World food price crisis

Türkiye is at risk of significant inflationary pressure through food prices driven by climate change, according to researchers at the country's Central Bank.

Climate change has not only become a major threat to sustainability and food security but also to price stability, they warned.

Food insecurity worsened around the world in 2023, with some 282 million people suffering from acute hunger due to conflicts, particularly in Gaza and Sudan, U.N. agencies and development groups said on Wednesday.

Global food prices rose in March, the first increase since July, pulled higher by cooking oil prices despite the cost of grains continuing to ease, the U.N.'s Food and Agricultural Organization has said.

The FAO's overall Food Price Index climbed 1.1 percent over the month to stand at 118.3 points in March 2024. On an annual comparison it was 7.7 percent lower.

For the second month in a row, the general price index headed higher. Inflation rose to 2.7% in August from 2.5% in July as food prices remained steep, fuel prices strengthened, while increases were recorded in a range of services including transport, dining and health.

Global rice prices reached a 15-year high in August after top exporter India banned some overseas sales of the grain, the Food and Agriculture Organization said on Sept. 8.

Only a decline in consumption, which could lead to an economic recession and signal the entry of the Greek economy into a new vicious cycle, can now lead to a reduction in food prices.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has called on the Western countries to take steps for meeting the expectations of Russia for the resumption of the grain deal and informed that Ankara is intensifying its contacts with Moscow.

The European Union is considering a proposal for the Russian Agricultural Bank to set up a subsidiary to reconnect to the global financial network as a sop to Moscow, the Financial Times said on Monday.

With the bank under sanctions, the move aims to safeguard the Black Sea grain deal that allows Ukraine to export food to global markets, the newspaper said.

A total of 32 million tons of grain has been transported through the grain corridor established in an effort to mitigate potential food crises arising from the Russia-Ukraine war, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu has announced.

Two U.N. food agencies have issued stark warnings about multiple, looming food crises on the planet, driven by climate "shocks" like drought and worsened by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine that have sent fuel and food prices soaring.