## picture-this-food-crisis2

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### Overview
- Three compounding crises—conflict, COVID, and climate change—are giving rise to another: hunger.
- FOOD PRICES ROSE 23 percent in 2021.
- Global food prices reached a new record in March 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
- As of May 9, 2022: An estimated 869 million people were undernourished.

### Drivers of food-price increases and supply disruptions
- Russia’s invasion of Ukraine disrupted commodity flows from two of the world’s largest exporters of wheat and other staples by idling Ukraine’s Black Sea ports and leaving fields untended, while curbing Russia’s ability to export.
- Russia and Ukraine together account for:
  - a quarter of global exports of wheat,
  - a fifth of barley and maize,
  - more than half of sunflower oil,
  - about an eighth of all calories traded in the world.
- War-related effects on fertilizers and energy:
  - Fertilizer costs rose because of rising energy prices.
  - Russia and Ukraine are large producers of potash-based crop nutrients.
  - Prices for natural gas, key to making fertilizer, have jumped because of the war.
  - Reduced fertilizer use and higher production costs are likely to keep food prices elevated into next year.
- Protectionism and export restrictions:
  - Nearly two dozen countries have turned to export restrictions so far, according to the International Food Policy Research Institute.
  - Export halts on grains and cooking oils, possibly in response to fears of social unrest, worsen global supply.

### Timeline and historical price movements (high-level events from chart annotations)
- Prices peak in 2008:Q2.
- Prices crash during the global financial crisis.
- Prices surge to a new peak at end-2010 amid surging demand, rising oil prices, and bad weather.
- Prices moderate and remain relatively stable between 2015 until end-2019.
- Prices increase significantly during the 2021 COVID-19 economic recovery.
- Prices reach a new peak at end-2021 amid rising energy prices and supply chain disruptions.
- Russia invades Ukraine; international commodity prices soar dramatically; wheat prices double.
- Global food prices reach an all-time high in March 2022.

### Hunger and food-security impacts
- Before the war, 193 million people were already acutely food insecure across 53 countries.
- Undernourishment levels rose dramatically by about 118 million people in 2020 after remaining largely unchanged for several years.
- Acute hunger levels rose by nearly 40 million in 2021.
- Conflict was the primary driver of acute food insecurity in 2021, with 139 million people facing food crisis levels or worse across 24 countries in 2021.
- As of May 9, 2022, there were 24 countries considered at high risk or moderate risk and deteriorating according to the World Food Program’s HungerMapLIVE (risk tiers based on the prevalence of insufficient food consumption and households using crisis-level food-based coping strategies).

### Key statistics and figures
- FOOD PRICES ROSE 23 percent in 2021.
- As of May 9, 2022: An estimated 869 million people were undernourished.
- Before the war, 193 million people were acutely food insecure across 53 countries.
- Undernourishment increased by about 118 million people in 2020.
- Acute hunger increased by nearly 40 million in 2021.
- 139 million people faced food crisis levels or worse across 24 countries in 2021.
- Nearly two dozen countries enacted export restrictions (per International Food Policy Research Institute).

*Source: FINANCE & DEVELOPMENT | June 2022*

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_Source: https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2022/june/picture-this-food-crisis2.pdf_