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.
To read the full article by the FAO of the UN, please click here.