Rome - Global food trade has accelerated and is poised to hit an all-time record in both volume and value terms, according to a new report released today by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
While global food trade has shown “Remarkable resilience to disruptions throughout the Covid-19 pandemic”, rapidly rising prices of food commodities and energy pose significant challenges for poorer countries and consumers, who spend large shares of their incomes on these basic necessities, FAO says in its new Food Outlook. FAO expects the global food import bill to reach an all-time high in 2021 and surpass US$1.75 trillion, marking a 14 percent increase from the previous year and 12 percent higher than earlier forecast in June 2021. The increase is driven by higher price levels of internationally traded food commodities and a threefold increase in freight costs.
Developing regions account for 40 percent of the total and their aggregate food import bill is expected to rise by 20 percent compared to 2020. Even faster growth is expected for Low-Income Food Deficit Countries, due to higher costs more than higher food import volumes.
Developing regions are facing sharp increases in the prices of basic staples such as cereals, animal fats, vegetable oils and oilseeds, while high-value foods, such as fruits and vegetables, fishery products and beverages are driving the bulk of the increases for developed regions.
Issued twice a year, Food Outlook offers FAO’s reviews market supply and demand trends for the world’s major foodstuffs, including cereals, vegetable oils, sugar, meat and dairy and fish. It also looks at trends in futures markets and shipping costs for food commodities. World output prospects for major cereals remain robust, with record harvests expected in 2021 for maize and rice, although cereals utilisation for human consumption and animal feed is forecast to grow faster.
Following a tight balance in 2020/21, preliminary forecasts for the 2021/22 season point to some improvements in the overall supply situation for oilseeds and derived products.