New wave of food inflation hurts the poorest most
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson spoke at the Food and Allied Workers Union congress in Johannesburg and raised concerns about food price increases in SA, notably for wheat and maize. She added that price volatility affected much of Africa but that it had the harshest effect on poor people.
This echoes a forecast from the South African National Agricultural Marketing Council that food inflation is to rise at a faster rate from next month to November, as well as a warning from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) that a new wave of food inflation and severe hikes in the price of basic foodstuffs cause many of the world's poorest people to slide further into deeper poverty and face the danger of severe hunger and malnutrition.
"Higher commodity prices and increasing costs in the food value chain are gradually working their way into food prices" said the Agricultural Marketing Council earlier this month, "given the typical lag between producer and consumer prices, it is likely that food prices will increase at a faster rate over the outlook period." The marketing council's quarterly food monitor shows that food and beverage inflation from July last year to July this year was at its highest level since July 2009. The food inflation rate for this period was 7,4%.
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