Food Outlook Report
News:
2023 Food Outlook Report released.
What:
- It is a biannual report tracking the global food market.
Highlights:
- The global food import bill is expected to reach record high of $1.98 trillion in 2023. This would be a 1.5% increase from last year.
- Note that this would be a slower pace of increase compared to last year. For instance, in 2022, the bill rose by 11% while 2021 saw an 18% increase. This is because of dampened demand.
- Food imports by vulnerable nations is expected to decline this year, while food imports by advanced economies is expanding.
- 1.5% decline in food import bill of least developed countries this year.
- The bill has declined by 4.9% for the net food importing developing countries.
- In both groups, there has been a decline in food import volumes. This suggests a drop in purchasing capacity- a worrying development.
- This is despite a decline in the international prices of several primary food items. The report suggests that 2023 could see a persistence in this cost of living pressure.
- The world food prices is being driven by higher quotations for fruits, vegetables, dairy products and sugar.
- Other projections:
- Rice production to increase by 1.3% to 523.5 million tonnes, while the international rice trade is expected to drop by 4.3% in terms of volume to 53.6 million tonnes.
- Wheat production to decrease by 3% from the all-time high of 777 million tonnes achieved in 2022. This decrease is to be driven by the decreases in Russia and Australia.
- The global agrifood production system remains vulnerable to shocks such as:
- Extreme weather events
- Geopolitical tensions
- Policy changes
- Developments in other commodity markets.
Who:
- From the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization)
