Poor Pay More: Food Inflation is Hitting Developing Countries Harder, Tridge Study Finds

SEOUL, Korea, Aug. 11, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Food inflation is hitting developing countries twice as hard as developed countries, causing a devastating discrepancy, particularly in developing countries that already allot higher percentages of their income to food, according to Tridge, an agricultural intelligence and trading platform.

Tridge’s analysis of data from 65 countries found that developing countries tend to show higher rates of inflation in food and agricultural products. Taking an increase of more than 10% YoY as a measure, we compared the vegetable price indices of the 35 Developing Countries against the 30 Developed Countries. Twenty-six of the 35 developing countries saw an increase of more than 10% in their vegetable price indices, while only 12 of the 30 developed countries saw the same increase. Nearly twice as many developing countries (74%) as developed countries (40%) faced sharply inflated vegetable prices.

In the fruit category, Turkey has experienced the highest rate of inflation, with its fruit price index tripling compared to last year. Ukraine (+76% YoY), Iran (+65% YoY), Argentina (+61% YoY), and India (+60% YoY) are also among countries that are experiencing severe inflation in the fruit market.

Turkey also saw a 150% YoY increase in their vegetable price index, recording the highest rate of inflation among 65 countries in the vegetable category. Several countries also experienced doubling vegetable price indices, including Uzbekistan (129%), Tajikistan (123%), Iran (115%), and Colombia (86%).

An explanation for the unequal inflation in global food prices is found in the fact that many developing countries are highly reliant on imports for agricultural inputs, such as fertilizer, fuel, seed, etc. Agricultural input prices have skyrocketed, with heightened prices being further exacerbated by global supply chain shocks. Altogether, rising production costs have contributed to food and agricultural prices, particularly in developing countries.

Different regulatory environments coupled with recent turmoil in the foreign exchange market brought about by the Fed’s changing interest rates are also among the key factors affecting ‘unequal inflation’ between developing and developed countries.

Tridge can provide raw data to interested journalists for their own analysis.

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About Tridge
Tridge is a digital trading and market intelligence hub for food and agriculture buyers and suppliers. Our goal is to solve the market inefficiencies of the traditional global trade industry and provide a safe and efficient platform for suppliers and buyers to connect and communicate. Tridge helps buyers find reliable suppliers that best match their demands and allow suppliers to expand their global sales.

Editorial Contacts

• Contact at Tridge: Minwoo Nam, [email protected]
• Contact at Flak42: Lonn Johnston, [email protected], +1.650.219.7764 

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