Policy Backgrounders

Global Food Security Update

August 31, 2022

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) reported that in 2022, 345 million people are either acutely food insecure or at high risk across 82 countries with WFP and available data. This is an increase of 200 million people from before the COVID-19 pandemic. Approximately 50 million people are on the brink of famine in 45 countries, including 900,000 people already facing famine or famine-like conditions in parts of Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen. 

Overall, while some countries have been seeing slight improvements in their food supply, concerns remain about the impact of significant global food inflation for essentials such as grains and cooking oils. Indeed, the World Bank reports that “92.9 percent of low-income countries, 92.7 percent of lower middle-income countries, and 89 percent of upper-middle-income countries have seen [food price] inflation levels above 5 percent, with many experiencing double-digit inflation.” In August, food price inflation in Lebanon reached 332 percent year on year above Zimbabwe’s 309 percent and Venezuela’s 155 percent; Turkey placed fourth at 95 percent. 

Further, even with a large harvest expected in Russia this year, the crisis driven by the war may still persist. Many major wheat exporters have already committed much of their output in previously agreed sales contracts, limiting the ability to shift export destinations. In addition, insurers remain reluctant to provide cover for ships entering the Black Sea, although there has been some progress in this area since the Russia-Ukraine grain agreement. 

For more details, please see the full Policy Brief (published 26 August 2022) and The Conference Board paper published on 15 March: What If Russia, Ukraine Grain Trade Halts? The paper stated that Russia and Ukraine together “supply 16 percent of global exports of grains.” CED published a Policy Brief on this subject on 4 April 2022.