Skyrocketing Food Prices Reported in the Caucasus and Central Asia Regions in 2024 - World Bank Reveals
In the World Bank's latest food security update, it has been revealed that food price inflation rates increased in most countries within the Caucasus and Central Asia region in 2024. However, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, which initially witnessed the highest inflation rates, saw a moderation throughout the year.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), around 280 million individuals globally face daily acute hunger. Whilst the number in Central Asian states is comparatively low, neighboring Afghanistan remains a food insecurity hotspot, three and a half years after the Taliban's takeover in Kabul. The World Bank report highlights the fragile food security situation in Afghanistan, despite ongoing aid provision. The continuation of drought and conflict in the region has destabilized agricultural production, causing severe food shortages.
The World Bank estimates that approximately 2.8 billion people worldwide struggle to afford a nutritious diet. As such, food price inflation remains a primary contributing factor to global food insecurity, with over 70 percent of lower-income countries experiencing food price inflation rates exceeding 5 percent during the last quarter of 2024.
Inflationary pressure on foodstuffs was relatively moderate in the Caucasus and Central Asia nations in 2024. In the World Bank's "lower middle income category," Kyrgyzstan observed a rise in food inflation, with a year-on-year rate of 4.1 percent in December. Tajikistan's rate remained below 3 percent for every month of the year. Uzbekistan experienced a significant decrease in the food price inflation rate, falling from 9.3 percent in January 2024 to 2.5 percent in December. Turkmenistan, whose data was absent in the report, was previously identified by a World Bank blogger as the country with the highest prevalence of food insecurity among formerly Soviet states.
In the upper middle income states, Azerbaijan and Georgia saw a steady rise in food price inflation, with Azerbaijan recording a rate of 4.4 percent in December, and Georgia a rate of 3.6 percent in the same month. Armenia's rate also increased but remained under 2 percent throughout 2024. Kazakhstan's rate persisted at a high level, ending the year at 5.5 percent in December. Although the inflation rate decreased from 8.2 percent in January of the previous year.
A UN report, cited in the World Bank update, suggests that inflationary pressures contribute to alterations in dietary patterns, leading to an "increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity" in lower and lower middle income nations. Many of these countries continue to grapple with undernutrition, according to a UN report titled The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets 2024. The report also emphasizes the rising availability of ultra-processed foods, linked to numerous health issues, as a significant factor behind the observed changes in dietary patterns. The expansion of global food exports, including ultra-processed items, has doubled in the past two decades, exerting a significant impact on food availability and diversity in domestic markets.
- In light of the World Bank report, the rising food price inflation in many countries, including Kyrgyzstan with a year-on-year rate of 4.1 percent in December, contributes to global food insecurity.
- The UN report, referenced in the World Bank update, connects a shift in dietary patterns, caused by inflationary pressures, to an increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity in lower and lower middle income nations, many of which are also battling undernutrition.
- The World Bank's food security update also highlights the rise in ultra-processed food exports over the past two decades, which has significantly affected the food availability and diversity in domestic markets, contributing to unhealthy lifestyle choices that are linked to numerous health issues.
