Earlier this year, the world was met with the shocking news of the Russian declaration of war against its neighbor, Ukraine. Not long after, the global economy began facing the consequences of the war. This meant that the costs of fuel, living expenses, and food skyrocketed globally, which led to an outcry from the countries to engage in diplomatic talks and take measures to contain the global ripple effect that the world’s economy faced.

However, the food prices have recently dropped, and they have been dropping for the past five months, but it is still considered to be 8 percent higher than last year. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation. The index shared on Friday by FAO showed that the average prices of the breadbasket staples have dropped, and it averaged 138.0 points, which is 2 percent less than that of July.

Pixabay/Pexels | While the food prices have dropped, there is the looming threat of low yields ahead.

The Ukraine Exports

One of the factors that have led to the food prices dropping is because of the production that has resumed in North America and Russia and the fact that exports are being resumed from the Black Sea ports in Ukraine. This improvement was due to Russia, Turkey, and the United Nations signing a landmark agreement in July, which unblocked Ukraine’s grain export despite the ongoing war. Because of this, the rice prices have also seen a steady period during August. On the other hand, the prices for coarse grains like maize have increased significantly.

Vegetable Oil Leading The Race

Another important development was the vegetable oil prices that have dropped by 3.3 percent, which, in comparison to August of 2021, is slightly lower. FAO credited this increased availability of palm oil from Indonesia. Also, sunflower oil shipments have resumed from Ukraine.

Cheese Seeing The Increase

Although dairy prices have dropped by 2 percent, they remain at an all-time high when compared to the prices back in August 2021. While other food prices decreased, cheese prices increased for ten months consecutively. The meat prices have also lowered by 1.5 percent but have remained 8 percent higher than last year's.

Nastyasensei/Pexels | Cheese is an essential ingredient for many recipes.

Cereals And Wheat

It is only the coarse grains like maize that are witnessing a price hike, but the rest of the grain prices are dropping significantly. However, it is estimated that Maize yields will decrease significantly by around 16 percent because of the hot and dry weather that Europe has been witnessing. FAO also estimates that there will be a ‘negligible drop’ in global wheat production due to the Russian situation and the weather conditions in North America. That is not all; rice production will also meet a global decline of 2.1 percent.

Ahmed Akacha/Pexels | This goes to show that the years ahead are definitely going to be tough

Climate change, unexpected war, and global economic situation; all these factors contribute to global food prices.