inflation
UN: Food prices at record level according to index
Fruit and vegetables in the supermarket: groceries have become noticeably more expensive. Photo: Wolfgang Kumm/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
An all-time high has been reached: Grocery shopping has become drastically more expensive. The costs increased by 12.6 percent from February to March. Why is that?
According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), food prices reached a record level in March, as expected. The FAO food price index has reached an all-time high, a spokesman for the organization said in Geneva on Friday.
The increase in costs from February to March, which amounted to 12.6 percent, is particularly noteworthy. That is the second-highest rise in the index’s 70-year history, it said.
Grains for bread, meat and vegetables in particular have become significantly more expensive, while rice, milk and sugar remain comparatively affordable. Even if the influence of the Ukraine conflict cannot be precisely quantified, “there is no doubt that the war plays an important role.”
In view of this development, the United Nations drew attention to the difficult situation of people in parts of Africa. According to a spokesman for the UN World Food Program (WFP), the food supply for around 40 million people in the Sahel zone and West Africa is not secured. “The region is facing an unprecedented and very complex food crisis,” he said.