The new edition of Food Outlook from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) examines the drivers of rising food, freight and agricultural input prices. The institution is less concerned about the risk of shortages than about prices that are bound to remain high for some time.

The global food import bill will rise to 1.750 billion dollars, an all-time high. Month after month, the prices of agricultural products continue to climb to the point of having propelled the basic food price index, established by the FAO, to its highest level since 2011, at the onset of a serious food crisis. . According to the FAO, global spending on food imports is expected to reach its highest level ever in 2021, an increase of 14% compared to the previous year and 12% more than what was forecast in June 2021. This This increase is explained by the rise in the prices of foodstuffs traded around the world and the tripling of freight costs. Inflation on agricultural markets has a direct effect on the cost of imports, especially for the poorest countries.

In its report, FAO recalls that developing regions account for 40 percent of total global expenditure on food imports, which is expected to increase by 20 percent in these regions compared to 2020. Even greater growth is expected in low-income, food-deficit countries, due to higher prices more than increased import volumes. Developing regions are facing a sharp increase in staple food prices, which are the main reason for the increases recorded in developed regions.