Friend, welcome back to our series on the drivers of the global food crisis: conflict, costs and climate. Today we will focus on costs. 

While global food prices have started to fall in recent months, they are still at a 10-year high. For many Americans, this may mean up to a dollar increase on grocery store items. However, for people who live on less than two dollars a day around the world, this steep rise in prices means much more: Millions of people cannot afford a basic meal. Families who didn't need the United Nations World Food Programme's (WFP) help now seek it out.

Global fertilizer prices have climbed even faster than food prices. Fertilizer plays a key role in food systems: 50% of the world's population depends on agricultural products that are produced with the help of mineral fertilizers. Before the war in Ukraine, fertilizer prices were already rising. Then, the war's effects further disrupted global fertilizer production. The cost of fertilizer rose while supplies dwindled, leading experts to predict there will be a major decrease in the production of foods like corn, rice and wheat this year.

The rise in prices also affects the work of the U.N. World Food Programme. Its monthly operational costs are 44% above its 2019 average. The money now spent on increased operational costs from food and fuel price hikes would have previously fed 4 million people (about twice the population of New Mexico) for one month.

The U.N. World Food Programme faces a shortfall of funds as high prices and rising needs outpace resources. In Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen, the U.N. World Food Programme has been forced to make hard decisions, including cutting rations in order to reach more people in need.

The bottom line is: All around the world, everyday items are becoming more expensive, and cost increases are making life harder for people experiencing the most extreme forms of hunger. Learn more about the global food crisis here.

❤️ World Food Program USA Team