Declining international prices to ease food import burden for poorest countries

Declining international agricultural commodity prices should ease the bill the world’s poorest countries pay for food imports, although the strengthening U.S. dollar poses “serious concerns”, a new United Nations report says.

Worldwide food imports are likely to reach $1.467 trillion in 2018, 3.0 percent above the previous year’s level but slightly down from the July forecast, according to the Food Outlook, a semiannual publication by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Declining prices for coffee, tea, cocoa, and sugar are easing global import costs, although the rising freight charges are expected to offset that effect. For Least-Developed Countries (LDC) and Low-Income Food-Deficit Countries (LIFDC), sharp drops in the international price of sugar are offsetting rising costs for imported vegetables and cereals.

Broadly speaking, the outlook for global food supplies in the coming year remains in line with earlier assessments, with robust production prospects and inventory levels taming prices. However, erratic weather, trade policies and currency exchange rates all pose mounting uncertainties, FAO says.

Food Outlook analyzes trends and developments in the markets for cereals, the oilseeds complex, sugar, meat, dairy and fish products. The November edition also offers a detailed analysis of the cassava markets and the protracted decline in international coffee prices. An additional feature article analyses the recent conditions in the global markets for bananas and major tropical fruits, where world trade is foreseen to surge by 18 percent from last year.

Read the full report Food Outlook November 2018

Original source: FAO
Published on 6 November 2018