FAO Warns World Bracing for Another Food Price Surge
The world is bracing for another food price surge, according to Maximo Torero, the chief economist of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Torero warns that wars in Iran and Ukraine, combined with El Nino, are creating a perfect storm of higher costs and lower crop yields.
Food prices have been relatively benign this year, but Torero expects commodity prices to start increasing more now, leading to food price hikes by the end of the year and next year for sure.
The transmission from commodity to final food price is around three to six months, according to Torero. He points out that the Strait of Hormuz is a problem that affects all agricultural commodities' inputs, including Brent oil and natural gas used for fertilizers.