Food Price Monitoring and Analysis (FPMA) Bulletin # 3, 10 April 2020

Year of publication2020

AuthorFAO

PublisherFAO

AbstractExport prices of wheat and maize averaged lower in March than in February despite brisk trade activity amid worries over the COVID-19 pandemic as large global supplies and favourable production prospects continued to dominate market sentiment. By contrast, concerns over the pandemic and news of Viet Nam temporarily halting new export contracts, kept international prices of rice on the rise. An upsurge in food demand and disruptions to supply chains triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic underpinned food price increases in several countries in the second half of March. To counter over-pricing and ensure domestic availabilities during the pandemic, governments are adopting a variety of policy interventions. In Mexico and South Africa, prices of white maize rose significantly in March amid sharp currency depreciations largely driven by expectations of a COVID-19-induced economic downturn. In the Sudan, prices of staple foods soared to record highs in March following a further devaluation of the country’s currency as a result of acute foreign exchange shortages and a widening gap between the official and parallel exchange rates. Fuel shortages and a below‑average 2019 cereal output, coupled with high production and transportation costs, continued to exert an upward pressure on prices.

 

Product typeJournal; magazine; bulletin

SeriesFood Price Monitoring and Analysis (FPMA)

RegionGlobal

ISSN2707-1960

Areas of workGlobal Information and Early Warning System

KeywordsFood prices; market prices; prices; retail prices; wholesale prices; early warning systems; world; cereals; maize; wheat; millets; rice.