The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) said in a report global food imports will hit a record $1.8 trillion in 2022, up $51 billion from 2021, as higher commodity and transportation costs are garnering most of the increase. FAO said that $49 billion of the forecast increase is from higher prices. Animal fats and vegoils are the biggest contributor. Rising input costs are also contributing to lower production, with the FAO Global Input Price Index launched in 2021 at an all-time high, rising faster than the FAO Food Price Index over the past 12 months.
Conclusion: The situation does “not augur well for a market-led supply response that could conceivably rein in further increases in food prices for the 2022-23 season and possibly the next.”
