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Food policy monitoring in the Near East and North Africa region. 2nd Quarter 2023 | Bulletin

Year of publication 2023

Place of publication Cairo, Egypt ;

Pages 36

Author FAO

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Journal, magazine, bulletin

Edition Third edition

Synopsis (short abstract) Although international commodities and food prices have declined over the past 12 months, domestic food price inflation remains high in many countries of the Arab region, partly due to domestic currency depreciation and continued high energy, transportation, and insurance costs. The average food consumer price index in the NENA region was 18.2 percent at the beginning of July 2023, according to the FAO Data Lab price nowcasting tool, and was elevated in the following countries: Algeria (18.9 percent), Egypt (67 percent), Lebanon (328 percent), Mauritania (14 percent), Morocco (15.3 percent), Sudan (28.2 percent), and Tunisia (16.2 percent). Conversely, Jordan and the oil-exporting Gulf countries have low food inflation rates (below 5 percent). Raising cash for foreign debt repayments has become an increasingly difficult task for many countries in the region (except for oil-exporting Gulf countries). This decreases the financial space to maintain the price support of basic staple food in real terms and safeguard social safety net measures, which, in turn, threatens to aggravate food insecurity.

Cite this content as:

FAO. 2023. Food Policy Monitoring in the Near East and North Africa Region. 2nd Quarter 2023 | Bulletin. Cairo. 

Language English

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