Russia is hit by a double whammy of food inflation

In April, the value of the FAO composite global index exceeded the value of 2019 by 31%, which is associated with an increase in the price of almost all basic products: SUGAR, vegetable oils, MEAT, dairy products and grains. Food prices have risen to the highest level since 2014, and according to the World Bank forecast, they could rise by another 14% in 2021.

Analysts believe that the main factors contributing to the rise in prices are the reduction in the supply of food from Latin American countries with the continuous growth of demand in CHINA.

Previously, outsiders were states with unstable currencies. Now the picture is changing. For example, in the United States in April 2020, a record jump in food prices was recorded in the last 46 years - by an average of 2.6%, and at the end of the year - by 3.4%. In the same period, the corresponding indicator of food inflation in RUSSIA was higher - 6.7% against 2% in 2019.

Associate Professor of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (PFUR), Professor of the Department of Marketing Sergey Chernikov specified that in Iran the growth rate of food prices reached 65%, in Argentina - 44%, Nigeria - 23%, Ethiopia - 22%, Turkey - 17%, Pakistan - 16%, Brazil - 13%. Against this background, Russia looks more or less safe.

The RSPP proposed measures to regulate prices for certain types of food

The rise in prices for basic crops is fraught with risk for poor food-importing countries, added Vitaly Mankevich, HEAD of the Russian-Asian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs: Nigeria, Turkey, India and, to a lesser extent, Brazil. And for Russia, this is a double blow: the increase in prices for raw materials in DOLLAR terms resonates with the devaluation of the ruble, he said.