What’s behind the spike in food prices?
Food prices rose sharply in 2021, reaching highest level in a decade, according to the United Nations.
As many countries pushed to reopen their economies last year after months of lockdowns and tightly controlled borders, economists began to warn of a new looming crisis: the rising cost of food.
The UN food agency says prices jumped 28 percent during the year, reaching their highest level since 2011.
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In December, they eased slightly, but before that had been climbing for four months in a row.
The surge is being blamed on a number of factors, including supply chain bottlenecks and increased costs for raw materials and energy.
What will it take to bring prices down?
Presenter: Kim Vinnell
Guests:
Jane Battersby – Senior lecturer in the Department of Environmental and Geographical Science at University of Cape Town
Abdolreza Abbassian – Senior economist at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization
Dipa Sinha – Professor of economics at Ambedkar University Delhi