CIHEAM Press Review

The price of carrots rose 11% in just one week and is now at its highest price of the year, according to weekly price monitoring released by DECO PROTeste.

The price of the basic food basket monitored by DECO PROTeste eased last week, but broccoli stands out, as the price of this food has already skyrocketed by 39% this year.

Policy makers must focus more attention on how rising food prices affect vulnerable groups like low-income families and retirees

Egypt's urban inflation rate saw its fastest acceleration of the year in May, reaching 16.8 percent year-on-year, up from 13.9 percent in April. This surge was primarily driven by increasing food prices, according to data released by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) on Wednesday.

This marks the third monthly acceleration in consumer price increases in Egyptian cities this year, following similar upticks in March and April. On a monthly basis, urban inflation stood at 1.9 percent in May, compared to 1.3 percent in April.

Egypt’s inflation dropped for a third consecutive month in December, a trend that may be halted by another round of devaluation in the coming weeks.
Consumer prices in urban areas of the country grew 33.7 per cent year-on-year last month, down from 34.6 per cent in November and 35.8 per cent in October.
It was the slowest rate since May, according to data published by the country’s statistics agency, Capmas, on Wednesday.
Inflation hit a record 38 per cent last September.

The government is unlikely to follow in the footsteps of some European countries which have intervened to control prices of staple foods to mitigate inflation.
Instead, the government injected the strongest financial aid where it hit the hardest and where it mattered the most – in fuel and electricity prices, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana told Times of Malta.

The Middle East Institute, in partnership with the World Bank, is pleased to announce a virtual panel event, "Altered Destinies: Middle East and North Africa Economic Update."

Middle East and North Africa economies are set to expand at their fastest pace since 2016, but growth will be uneven as oil-importing countries continue to overcome the impact of the pandemic and the shock of soaring energy and food prices exacerbated by the outbreak of the Ukraine war, coupled with rising interest rates, according to the World Bank.

Please join us for the launch and presentation of the World Bank’s latest Middle East and North Africa Economic Update, a twice-yearly forecast that looks at growth prospects for the region. Titled “A New State of Mind: Greater Transparency and Accountability in the Middle East and North Africa,” the most recent edition underscores how many MENA countries are struggling to overcome the lasting impact of the pandemic while facing new shocks from high oil and food prices, rising global interest rates, and slowdowns in major world economies.

The Middle East is particularly vulnerable to the wide-ranging effects on global food prices and supplies caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The history of food security in the region could portend catastrophic consequences if this state of affairs persists and worsens, with the possibility of political unrest, migration, and even famine.

Press release... According to data shared by the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM), the cereals, pulses, oilseeds and products sector balances domestic food prices....

The price of the food basket rose again last week and is now 2.07 euros higher (+0.86%), reaching 242.45 euros. This is "one of the highest prices" since DECO PROteste began tracking the price of this basket of essential items.

The price of the food basket fell by almost €4 during the last week, following four consecutive weeks of increases, according to DECO PROTeste. 

Egypt's headline inflation rate dropped dramatically last month to 12.8 per cent, down from 24 per cent in January, as the country carries out several reforms amid efforts to stabilise its economy.

Egypt’s annual headline inflation broke another record in August, rising to 37.4 per cent from 36.5 per cent the previous month, driven by higher food prices, data from the country’s statistics agency Capmas showed on Sunday.

Portugal is removing VAT from the price of basic food items and increasing support for producers, to help consumers and manufacturers cope with the growing inflation and interest rates.
The government signed the deal with the Portuguese Association of Distribution Companies (APED), and the Confederation of Portuguese Farmers (CAP) to put the new measures into play.

The world is facing a significant food waste problem, with up to half of all fruit and vegetables lost somewhere along the agricultural food chain. Globally, around 14% of food produced is lost after harvesting but before it reaches shops and supermarkets.
Alongside food prices (66%), food waste is a concern for 60% of people that participated in a recent survey published by the UK Food Standards Agency.

Fresh hake (67 percent) and broccoli (47 percent) saw the
biggest increases in prices between March 1 and August 31, while courgette saw the biggest drop in cost (-23 percent).

Cooking oil and poultry registered the biggest price changes in food products since February, according to INE data, while the price of fruit rose 13.7% in the last six months.