(Washington) Food prices continue to rise faster than inflation in nearly 80% of countries in the world, the World Bank (WB) highlighted on Monday during the monthly update of its report. on food security.
This increase is all the more marked in the poorest or developing countries, since 60 to 80% of them, depending on the category, see food prices increase by more than 5%. This increase even exceeds 10% for many of them.
In certain countries, such as Argentina, Egypt, Iran, Nigeria and Pakistan, the increase even exceeds 30% over one year, while poverty has increased significantly there.
But advanced economies are not spared either since food increases faster than inflation in 64% of them.
The WB emphasizes, however, that the rise in food prices within the European Union is starting to slow down. Food nevertheless represents 40% of the price increase from the European consumer’s point of view.
In detail, on an annual basis, corn prices have increased by 28% while those of wheat are up 35%. Rice, a staple in many less developed and developing countries, increased by 39% year-on-year.
Corn and wheat, however, remain below the peaks observed in January 2021, when the COVID-19 pandemic and the recovery from lockdowns severely disrupted global supply chains, but rice is still 19% more expensive only in January 2021.
However, the food situation in the east of the African continent is already causing concern, underlines the WB, with several countries in the region (Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan) being concerned.
In total, 62 million people in these countries risk becoming food insecure in the next six months.
The World Bank is finally concerned about the situation in the Gaza Strip, when 63% of the population was already in a situation of food insecurity before the outbreak of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, after the group’s bloody attack on the 7th. October, which left 1,400 Israeli victims, mainly civilians.
Since October 9, Israel has imposed a “total siege” on Gaza, interrupting supplies of water, electricity and food, while the territory had already been subject to an Israeli blockade since 2007 and Hamas came to power.
According to the Hamas Ministry of Health, more than 8,300 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in the Gaza Strip in Israeli bombardments since the start of the war.