FAO Warns Against Escalating Food Prices

The Food Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has predicted a surge in staple food prices in West Africa markets, adding that the forthcoming surge will have a far negative impact in the escalation of prices of essential foods such as rice, maize, millet, cereals, amongst others.

It also revealed that this surge is expected to impact Nigeria and other West African nations as highlighted in a December by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

The report attributes the expected increase to a combination of factors, including reduced production, trade limitations, and global geopolitical influences, adding that these developments pose potential challenges to both the accessibility and affordability of food in the region, demanding close attention from policymakers and the public alike.

The report stated that the escalation of food prices was largely driven by the impending hike in staple foods, global inflation, escalating food prices, month-on-month headline inflation which reached 2.09 per cent last month, marking a 0.35 percentage point rise from October’s 1.73 per cent.

Furthermore, the report underscores that staple food prices currently surpass the five-year average across the region. This elevation stems from several factors, including production shortfalls, trade constraints, insecurity in the Sahel region, elevated global prices, increased transaction expenses, and currency depreciation in the Gulf of Guinea’s coastal countries.

The report also emphasises that Nigeria’s annual inflation continues to climb, further exacerbated by the recent removal of fuel subsidies.
It predicts that prices will likely remain above average due to restricted production, sustained demand, limited humanitarian assistance, ongoing trade disruptions, and prevailing security and socio-economic challenges within the region.