BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 17
By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:
The issue of food security is globalizing day by day, many countries are on the verge of starvation. The demand for grain, which is the main food product, is growing sharply. The growing demand at the global level contributes to the rise in the price of food products, Azer Badamov, MP of Azerbaijani Parliament, told Trend.
The MP believes that two main factors influence the price increase.
"The first factor is due to the fact that the population is growing rapidly in the world, and this increases the need for grain. The second factor is the impact on grain production of climate changes that have been occurring recently. The decline in production in the main grain exporting countries is also reflected in world prices."
According to the report of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), grain prices in the world increased by 3.4 percent compared to August 2021 and by 31.1 percent compared to the same period of 2020.
"Several major grain exporting countries, where production has fallen, have increased their selling prices by 8.8 percent, also by 43.5 percent compared to the corresponding period of 2020,” the MP said.
“Russia, which is the main grain exporter, has introduced a quota for the export of wheat, barley, rye, and corn – 17.5 million tons. For each ton of exports above the quota, a customs duty of 50 percent will be applied. Naturally, the sharp increase in grain prices on world markets also affects the increase in prices of flour products in importing countries," he added.
Prices for other food products are also growing in the world. Prices for dairy products on world markets decreased by 13.6 percent compared to July 2020, but they are higher than the corresponding indicators of August 2020. Prices for vegetable oils increased by 6.7 percent and meat products rose by 22 percent, compared to July 2020, Badamov said.
The prices of crude oil on world markets increased by almost 50 percent, compared to the beginning of 2021, and as a result, the cost of gasoline on world markets increased by almost 55 percent.
The prices increase in the world poses new challenges for importing countries, he said.
"One of these challenges is related to the fact that importing countries, using the existing opportunities for agricultural production, should pay more attention to this area, since in the future these countries may have big issues with import prices," Badamov concluded.
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