Developing countries like Bangladesh are feeling the heat of the rising food prices as these essential commodities are seeing a hike in prices globally.
Annual global inflation is set to reach 6.7% this year, according to the United Nations, with developing countries in western Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean also feeling the pinch, reports The Washington Post.
In Bangladesh, inflation shot up to 6.29% in April, the highest in the last 18 months, though experts think the rate may be 12% or more.
According to the state-owned organization Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), the price of cooking oil and palm oil has risen from 50% to 61%, whereas the price of flour has also gone up by 45% for atta and 71% for finer variant (maida) in a year.
The prices of pulse, another essential commodity, experienced a yearly hike of 38% to 51% based on variants (coarse, finer, mugh, anker, peas, etc) in Bangladesh.
Sugar experienced a yearly hike of 6% to 10%, however, according to insiders the price is higher than it showed in the TCB data.
Moreover, the price of eggs hiked by 39%, powdered milk by 12%, beef by 13%, poultry by 25%, onions and fresh vegetables by 20% to 40% in a year.
As of May 24, the wholesale price of wheat in the international market was $453 per ton in Europe and $503 per ton in the USA.
In Khatunganj, the wheat is being sold at Tk1550 per maund (37.32 kg).
The price of soybean in the international market was $1,785 per ton, and palm oil was $1556 per ton.
However, in Khatunganj, soybean and palm oil was being sold at Tk7,500 and Tk6,600 per maund as of May 24.
The price of sugar was $441 per ton in the international market, which was Tk2,900 per maund in Khatunganj.
The pulses were being sold at Tk3,700 per maund for coarse variant and Tk5,250 for finer variant.
Meanwhile, it is seen that there are abnormalities in the prices at the import level and consumer level, which is caused by a vicious syndicate, experts believe.
Talking to Dhaka Tribune, Professor Mustafizur Rahman, a distinguished fellow of the Centre for the Policy Dialogue (CPD), said the global food market situation, food prices, and inflation in imports have increased which also have created a vicious cycle in Bangladesh.
“In our country, the price goes up unreasonably from the import level till it reaches the consumers. The government has to adopt a zero-tolerance policy regarding this,” he added.
In Bangladesh, there are problems like market syndication, product stockpiling, etc, and disappearing the products if there are any possibilities of shortage or price hike.
“These problems have been going on for a long time and if these problems are not solved, the uncertainty in the market will not decrease. So, the government has to play a role in overcoming the uncertainty and ensuring the supply of essentials,” he added.
According to the Washington Post, prices are climbing even in the poorest countries. In some regions of war-torn Yemen, basic foods were 85% more expensive in March than a year before, according to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network, which monitors global food security.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24 injected new uncertainty into the global economy.
The war has particularly affected energy and food, both key sectors in which inflation is high.
Ukraine and the broader Black Sea region are often referred to as the "breadbasket" of Europe because of their production of wheat, corn, and other agricultural goods. With much of that trade upended by the war, global food prices have soared and are now near record highs. There are numerous knock-on effects: Corn prices have risen because of the push to use ethanol, while Russia has limited fertilizer exports.
Many of the worst impacts of food prices are being felt in countries that already lack food security.
Yemen, for example, relies on Ukraine or Russia for 46% of its wheat imports.
Unpredictable weather events, such as droughts that damage crops and storms that upend trade routes are increasingly seen as a key factor in the rising cost of living.
In India, the government has responded to a record-setting heat wave that put a strain on millions with a ban on wheat exports. The country, which accounts for nearly a third of the world's wheat supply, had previously pledged to help ‘feed the world’ amid the ongoing food crisis, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said earlier this month.
India is just the latest country hit by extreme weather that destroyed crops: Brazil, another major food exporter, suffered through drought last year that hit its agricultural industry. The country's inflation reached over 12% in April.
Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Monday that: "The anxiety about access to food at a reasonable price globally is hitting the roof as food prices continue to go up.”
Last week, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned of the spectre of a global food shortage in the coming months without urgent international action.
According to UN figures, the number of severely food-insecure people has doubled in the past two years, from 135 million pre-pandemic to 276 million today. Now, more than half a million people are experiencing famine conditions, according to the UN, an increase of more than 500% since 2016.
In China, prices of fresh vegetables are 24% higher than a year ago, according to data released by the country's National Bureau of Statistics.
China's "Zero Covid" policy has meant an economic slowdown and added to inflation around the world and global supply chain issues.
António Guterres has urged a five-step plan to help confront the challenges: Increasing supplies of food and fertilizers; social protection systems within countries; more access to international finance; further government help for smallholder food producers; and better funding for humanitarian operations to reduce famine and hunger.
Pimple Barua from Chittagong also contributed to this report
