A Report Issued By The United Nations Shows: Global Food Prices Hit A 10-year High

It reported that experts believe that the new crown epidemic has caused the above phenomenon. They said that the anti-epidemic measures have broken the balance of supply and demand in the food market. In addition, with the increase in oil and natural gas prices, the price of cargo transportation has also increased significantly.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations announced on the 7th that the global food price index reached 130 in September this year, an increase of 1.2% month-on-month and a year-on-year increase of 32.8%, the highest value since September 2011.

said in the report: "The increase in the index in September was mainly driven by the increase in the prices of most grains and vegetable oils. The prices of dairy products and sugar also increased, and the price index of meat remained unchanged."

Nikita Maslennikov, director of the Economic and Financial Research Office of the Russian Institute of Modern Development, said in an interview with Today’s Russian TV station that the main reason for the increase in global food prices is the imbalance between supply and demand.

Maslennikov said that the new crown epidemic and the continuous implementation of epidemic prevention measures in some countries have led to a reduction in food production, which has led to a shortage of food in the international market. He pointed out that at the same time, global consumer demand has maintained steady growth since the end of 2020.

He added: "The rupture of the transportation and logistics distribution chain also has an additional significant impact on prices. Now, there is a real crisis due to the shortage of containers all over the world. This situation has led to a rapid increase in freight and transportation costs."

Georgy Ostapkovich, director of the Institute of Statistics and Knowledge Economy of the Russian Higher School of Economics, said that the global price increase of oil, natural gas and coal has made the situation more complicated.

Ostapkovich said: "Energy prices are rising rapidly. The increasingly expensive prices of natural gas and coal affect the cost of electricity. This will ultimately be reflected in the cost of products and logistics."

Experts said that the general rise in global food prices has had a certain degree of impact on Russia. According to reports issued by the Russian Ministry of Economic Development and the National Bureau of Statistics, domestic food prices rose 9.21% year-on-year in September, setting a new high in more than five years.

Ostapkovich said that about 40% of the increase in food prices in Russia is due to the impact of rising global food prices. In addition, the cost of domestic transportation services is also an important factor.

He pointed out: “In countries like Russia or Brazil, the impact of freight increases is much greater. For example, in Russia, fruits and vegetables from the Stavropol region to Kamchatka require refrigerated transportation by train. It took up to a week and a half. This really adds to the price."

The latest data from the Russian Ministry of Economic Development show that the average annual increase in the consumer prices of domestic goods and services in Russia has increased to 7.48%.