We reached the top in food inflation

Turkey was among the world’s leading countries in food inflation. The World Bank has published its report on Food Security. According to the report, the highest food inflation was recorded in Zimbabwe at 285 percent. The African country was followed by Venezuela with 158 percent food inflation and Lebanon with 143 percent. Argentina, where food inflation reached 95 percent, ranked fourth, while Turkey ranked fifth with food inflation of 77 percent. Other countries in the top 10 were Ghana, Sri Lanka, Rwanda, Suriname, and Haiti, respectively.

DOUBLE DIGIT LEVELS

Domestic food price inflation remains high around the world. Data from September to December 2022 show hyperinflation in almost all low- and middle-income countries. 83.3% of low-income countries, 90.5% of lower-middle-income countries and 91% of upper-middle-income countries have experienced inflation levels above 5%, with many experiencing inflation two digits. The most affected regions were Africa, North America, Latin America, South Asia, Europe and Central Asia.

On the other hand, data from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) show that there is a drop in food prices in the world. The FAO Food Price Index fell for the ninth consecutive month. It averaged 132.4 points in December 2022, 2.6 points lower than November 2021 and 1.3 points lower than December 2021. However, food prices continued to rise in Turkey.

The embargo triggered the crisis

Noting that country-imposed trade bans increased after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the World Bank report noted that the global food crisis was made worse by restrictions imposed to increase domestic supply and lower prices. As of December 2022, 19 countries have implemented 23 food export bans and 8 countries have implemented 12 export limitation measures. The report noted that the sharp drop in international vegetable oil prices led to moderate declines in grain and meat prices.