World: Historically high food prices here to stay, says FAO economist

The historically high food and agriculture commodity prices are likely to sustain for multiple upcoming seasons driven by various factors like the Russia-Ukraine conflict and high farm input prices, economist with United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Monika Tothova said in an interview with S&P Global Commodity Insights. “It is very likely that food prices are going to stay elevated, given by the supply and demand shock but also by the higher cost of agriculture inputs,” Tothova said. “It is difficult to say how long the high food prices can last because we need to see how long the Russia-Ukraine conflict is going to last, but even if the goal was to finish immediately, it will take some time for the exports to go back to pre-war levels, and we will still have the high input prices,” said Tothova. “It is likely to be for a while — we are talking about seasons rather than months of high prices,” she added. At present, food prices are at levels never seen before. The ...