A report issued by the World Bank concerning global food conditions and rising prices linked to increasing inflation rates in most countries revealed that Lebanon recorded the second-highest nominal food inflation rate globally during the first eight months of 2022. The World Bank released updated figures on food security providing an overview of the annual changes in the food index within the price inflation index across several countries.
The report highlighted that food inflation rates remain high worldwide across all income categories, with 88.2% of low-income countries, 91.1% of lower-middle-income countries, and 93.0% of upper-middle-income countries experiencing total inflation rates surpassing 5%, and some exceeding 10%. Furthermore, the report stated that 82.1% of high-income countries are suffering from high inflation rates and elevated food price inflation.
Countries with the highest food inflation rates are found in Africa, North America, Latin America, South Asia, and Europe and Central Asia. It indicated that the real food inflation rate surpassed the overall real inflation rate in 83.3% of the 156 countries included in the report.
Lebanon recorded the second-highest nominal food inflation rate globally during the first eight months of 2022, with a 198% annual change in the food price inflation index, trailing Zimbabwe (353%) and followed by Venezuela (131%) and Turkey (89%). In terms of real inflation rates, Zimbabwe's annual food price change was 68%, followed by Lebanon (36%), Iran (32%), and Sri Lanka (22%), among others.
From another perspective, the report stated that food prices in the Middle East and North Africa have stabilized recently, as seen in Jordan (3.7% increase in food prices during July) and Saudi Arabia (2.7% increase). Conversely, the report noted that food prices in Egypt and Lebanon remained high in August 2022, increasing annually by 24.3% and 20.8%, respectively.
The report mentioned that 20 countries imposed 29 bans on the export of essential food items to address internal consumption shortages, while 7 countries adopted 12 measures to mitigate exports. Lebanon imposed a ban on the export of fruits, vegetables, ground grain products, sugar, and bread on March 18, 2022, until the end of 2022, while also permanently prohibiting the export of meat, fish, potatoes, and other food items.
