FAO chief economist: global food prices remain elevated after ‘perfect storm’ of shocks

Maximo Torreiro, chief economist at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, briefed UN correspondents on global food-price inflation and previewed findings tied to the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2025 report.

Torreiro said global food prices experienced a “perfect storm” of shocks between 2020 and 2024 — namely the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and increasingly frequent climate shocks. He told reporters that food inflation peaked at 13.6% in January 2023 and that, by 2024, prices had only returned to roughly the 2019 pre-pandemic level, meaning households endured multiple years of reduced food affordability.

Why it matters: Elevated food prices and prolonged inflation have eroded household purchasing power, driven many families toward cheaper and less nutritious diets, and contributed to rising rates of child wasting and severe food insecurity in parts of Africa and Western Asia, the briefing said.

Torreiro summar…