According to the World Bank’s “Food Security Report,” Pakistan had consumer price inflation for food products in February 2023 of 45.1% on an annual basis, which is the highest inflation rate in South Asia after Sri Lanka’s rate of 54.4%.
The report also notes that domestic grain and wheat flour prices were significantly higher at the start of 2023 than they were a year earlier in South Asia. In Pakistan specifically, wheat flour prices in January 2023 soared to all-time highs and increased by 20% to 140% year over year.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, a number of factors, including generally stagnant production since 2018, stock losses and disrupted trade flows as a result of the floods in 2022, high agricultural input and transportation costs, and high headline inflation, are to blame for the high prices of food items (FAO).
According to the research, consumer price inflation for food prices in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal was 6.2%, 7.8%, and 5.6%, respectively, year over year in January 2023. Despite decreases in Pakistan and Tanzania, rice output increased in a number of nations in 2022, including India.
Due to lower exports from Pakistan, Thailand, the US, and Vietnam, which will more than offset an increase from India, the US Department of Agriculture forecasts a 4.5% decline in rice shipments. Moreover, global domestic food price inflation is still very strong.
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Brecorder reports that the latest month for which data on food price inflation are available, between October 2022 and February 2023, shows high inflation in almost all low- and middle-income countries, with inflation levels above 5% in 94.1% of low-income countries, 86.1% of lower-middle-income countries, and 87.1% of upper-middle-income countries, with many experiencing double-digit inflation.
Furthermore, the survey found that 87.3% of high-income nations are experiencing substantial food price inflation, with Africa, North America, Latin America, South Asia, Europe, and Central Asia suffering the worst effects.
