Page 12 - aruba-today-20220725

A12 business
Monday 25 July 2022

'Day by day': Trade bans, inflation send

food prices soaring

days, half her income goes
to feeding her family as
the currency loses strength
amid soaring prices.
"I'm not buying (groceries)
like I used to," Saliba said.
"I'm just getting the neces-
sary items and food, like
day by day."
Food prices have risen
by nearly 14% this year in
emerging markets and
by over 7% in advanced
economies, according
to Capital Economics. In
countries where people
People shop at a busy popular market in Beirut, Lebanon, Mon-
day, July 15, 2022. spend at least a third or
Associated Press more of their incomes on
food, any sharp increase in
By AYA BATRAWY, EILEEN mestic prices and supplies prices can lead to crisis.
NG, OMAR FARUK and KA- as a growing number of Capital Economics fore-
REEM CHEHAYEB governments in develop- casts that households in
Associated Press ing nations try to show a developed markets will
Soki Wu's food stall, tucked nervous public that their spend an extra $7 billion a
in a food court in a shop- needs will be met. month on food and bever-
ping mall in Singapore, is a For business owners, the ris- ages this year and much of
crowd favorite for its fresh, ing cost of cooking ingredi- next year due to inflation.
juicy "chicken rice," a na- ents — from oil to chicken The pain is being felt un-
tional dish. But customers — has prompted them to evenly, with 2.3 billion peo-
recently began complain- raise prices, with people ple going severely or mod-
ing that his chicken didn't paying 10% to 20% more at erately hungry last year,
taste quite as good as it Wu's food stall. For consum- according to a global re-
used to. ers, it has meant paying port by the World Food Pro-
Wu was forced to switch more for the same or lesser- gram and four other U.N.
to frozen chicken after quality food or curbing cer- agencies.
Malaysia banned exports tain habits altogether. Food prices accounted
last month of live broiler In Lebanon, where endem- for about 60% of last year's
chickens that are more af- ic corruption and political increase in inflation in the
fordable and better tast- stalemate has crippled the Middle East and North Af-
ing in a bid to offset rising economy, the U.N. World rica, with the exception of
local prices. For Singapore, Food Program is increas- oil-producing Gulf coun-
which sources a third of its ingly providing people with tries. The situation is particu-
poultry from Malaysia, the cash assistance to buy larly dire for Sudan, where
impact was immediate. food, particularly after a inflation is expected to hit
"This is unavoidable. Using devastating 2020 port blast 245% this year, and Iran,
frozen chickens have af- that destroyed massive where prices spiked as
fected the taste of the dish, grain silos. Constant power much as 300% for chick-
but we have no choice," cuts and high fuel prices for en, eggs and milk in May,
Wu said. generators limit what peo- sparking panic and scat-
As inflation surges around ple can buy because they tered protests.
the world, politicians are can't rely on freezers and In Somalia, where 2.7 million
scrambling for ways to refrigerators to store perish- people cannot meet their
keep food affordable as ables. daily food requirements
people increasingly protest Tracy Saliba, a single moth- and where children are dy-
the soaring cost of living. er of two and business own- ing of malnutrition, sugar is
One knee-jerk response er in Beirut, says she used to a source of energy. In May,
has been food export bans spend around a quarter of a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of
aimed at protecting do- her earnings on food. These sugar cost about the equiv-
alent of 72 cents in Moga-
dishu, the capital. A month
later, it had shot up to $1.28
a kilogram.
"In my home, I serve tea
(with sugar) three times
a day, but from now on, I
have to reduce it drastical-
ly to only making it when
guests arrive," said Asli Ab-
dulkadir, a Somali house-
wife and mother of four.q