What’s behind the spike in food prices?

As many countries pushed to reopen their economies last year after months of lockdowns and tightly controlled borders, economists began to warn of a new looming crisis: the rising cost of food.

The UN food agency says prices jumped 28 percent during the year, reaching their highest level since 2011.

In December, they eased slightly, but before that had been climbing for four months in a row.

The surge is being blamed on a number of factors, including supply chain bottlenecks and increased costs for raw materials and energy.

What will it take to bring prices down?

Presenter: Kim Vinnell

Guests:

Jane Battersby – Senior lecturer in the Department of Environmental and Geographical Science at University of Cape Town

Abdolreza Abbassian – Senior economist at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization

Dipa Sinha – Professor of economics at Ambedkar University Delhi