Despite improved global cereal supplies food emergencies continue in 32 countries
The poorest spend up to 80 percent of their income on food. High prices means there is less to go around.
©Photo: ©FAO/Peter DiCampo
The cereal import bill for low-income food-deficit countries (LIFDCs) is expected to decline in 2008/09 to $28 billion, down 27 percent from the previous season's all-time high, with lower international prices and freight rates bringing some relief, the report said.
But the slow pace of both commercial cereal imports and food aid is one of the factors keeping food prices high in poor countries, FAO says. By late March, only 45 percent of the LIFDCs' cereal import requirement for the marketing years ending in 2009 had been met.
Hunger hotspots
Food insecurity prevails in parts of Asia, especially in parts of Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Myanmar. In the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, amid chronic food insecurity, food rations have reportedly been halved following reduced supplies.
In Eastern Africa more than 17 million people face serious food insecurity due to poor harvests, conflict or a combination of these factors. In Somalia, an estimated 3.2 million people currently require food assistance. In Sudan, the continued conflict and the recent expulsion of some humanitarian agencies in Darfur have raised serious concern for millions of vulnerable people faced already with dire situations.
In Southern Africa high domestic prices, slow pace of imports and high demand during these peak hunger months are affecting the food security of around 8.7 million people, including over 5 million in Zimbabwe, where the ongoing outbreak of cholera poses a serious threat to the health and nutrition of vulnerable groups.
Erwin Northoff Media Relations (Rome) (+39) 06 570 53105 [email protected]