Food Prices Fall on World Markets but not for Most People
2023-05-08
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1The global market prices of grains, vegetable, milk-based and other agricultural products have been falling.
2The price drops, however, have not yet made it to everyday buyers around the world.
3Around the world, food prices are staying painfully high.
4Food prices were already high when Russia invaded Ukraine in February of 2022.
5The invasion caused major problems to the grain and fertilizer trade.
6Food prices rose quickly.
7But on a global level, that price shock ended a while ago.
8The United Nations says global food prices have fallen for 12 straight months.
9Good harvests in places like Brazil and Russia and a wartime agreement that permitted grain shipments out of the Black Sea helped lead to the drop in food prices.
10Yet, prices at food stores are still rising.
11And that affects people everywhere, from the United States and Europe to struggling countries in the developing world.
12Food prices were 19.5 percent higher in the European Union last month compared to a year earlier and 19.2 percent higher in Britain.
13Joseph Glauber is former chief economist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
14He said that the cost of agricultural products is just one reason for the continued high cost of food.
15In the United States, food prices were up 8.5 percent last month compared to one year earlier.
16Glauber said that "75 percent of the costs are coming after it leaves the farm."
17He added, "It's energy costs. It's all the processing costs. All the transportation costs. All the labor costs."
18Food inflation, Glauber said, "will come down, but it's going to come down slowly, largely because these other factors are still running pretty high."
19Another reason for high food prices in the United States, observers say, is a wave of mergers that have reduced competition in the food industry.
20White House officials last year noted that just four companies control 85 percent of the U.S. beef market.
21Beef is meat that comes from cows.
22Similarly, just four companies control 70 percent of the pork market and 54 percent of the poultry market.
23Pork meat comes from pigs; poultry is meat from birds including chickens and ducks.
24Those companies, critics say, can use their market power to raise prices.
25Glauber, who is now a researcher at the International Food Policy Research Institute, is not sure that mergers are the reason for high food prices.
26He agreed that big agribusinesses can bring in profits when prices rise.
27But things usually even out over time.
28And their earnings go down in other times.
29"I couldn't point my finger at the fact that we just have a handful of meat producers," Glauber said.
30In other countries, Glauber said, a strong U.S. dollar is to blame for keeping food prices high.
31In other high food price times, the dollar was not as strong.
32Glauber said prices for corn and wheat are given in dollars per ton.
33Because of the strong dollar, people in other countries have not felt the price drops that have shown up in global food markets.
34In Hungary, people are increasingly unable to deal with the biggest increases in food prices in the E.U., reaching 45 percent in March.
35Joszef Varga is a fruit and vegetable seller in Budapest historic Grand Market Hall.
36He said wholesale costs have risen by 20 to 30 percent. All his buyers have felt the increased prices - some more than others.
37"Those with more money in their wallets buy more, and those with less buy less," he said.
38In Pakistan, store owner Mohammad Ali said some customers are no longer buying meat.
39They buy more vegetables and beans instead.
40But even the price of vegetables, beans, rice and wheat are up as much as 50 percent.
41Sitting in her home outside Pakistan's capital of Islamabad, 45-year-old Zubaida Bibi said, "Our life was never easy, but now the price of everything has increased so much that it has become difficult to live."
42I'm Gregory Stachel
1The global market prices of grains, vegetable, milk-based and other agricultural products have been falling. The price drops, however, have not yet made it to everyday buyers around the world. Around the world, food prices are staying painfully high. 2Food prices were already high when Russia invaded Ukraine in February of 2022. The invasion caused major problems to the grain and fertilizer trade. Food prices rose quickly. 3But on a global level, that price shock ended a while ago. The United Nations says global food prices have fallen for 12 straight months. Good harvests in places like Brazil and Russia and a wartime agreement that permitted grain shipments out of the Black Sea helped lead to the drop in food prices. 4Yet, prices at food stores are still rising. And that affects people everywhere, from the United States and Europe to struggling countries in the developing world. 5Food prices were 19.5 percent higher in the European Union last month compared to a year earlier and 19.2 percent higher in Britain. 6Joseph Glauber is former chief economist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He said that the cost of agricultural products is just one reason for the continued high cost of food. 7In the United States, food prices were up 8.5 percent last month compared to one year earlier. Glauber said that "75 percent of the costs are coming after it leaves the farm." 8He added, "It's energy costs. It's all the processing costs. All the transportation costs. All the labor costs." 9Food inflation, Glauber said, "will come down, but it's going to come down slowly, largely because these other factors are still running pretty high." 10Another reason for high food prices in the United States, observers say, is a wave of mergers that have reduced competition in the food industry. 11White House officials last year noted that just four companies control 85 percent of the U.S. beef market. Beef is meat that comes from cows. Similarly, just four companies control 70 percent of the pork market and 54 percent of the poultry market. Pork meat comes from pigs; poultry is meat from birds including chickens and ducks. 12Those companies, critics say, can use their market power to raise prices. 13Glauber, who is now a researcher at the International Food Policy Research Institute, is not sure that mergers are the reason for high food prices. He agreed that big agribusinesses can bring in profits when prices rise. But things usually even out over time. And their earnings go down in other times. 14"I couldn't point my finger at the fact that we just have a handful of meat producers," Glauber said. 15In other countries, Glauber said, a strong U.S. dollar is to blame for keeping food prices high. In other high food price times, the dollar was not as strong. 16Glauber said prices for corn and wheat are given in dollars per ton. Because of the strong dollar, people in other countries have not felt the price drops that have shown up in global food markets. 17In Hungary, people are increasingly unable to deal with the biggest increases in food prices in the E.U., reaching 45 percent in March. 18Joszef Varga is a fruit and vegetable seller in Budapest historic Grand Market Hall. He said wholesale costs have risen by 20 to 30 percent. All his buyers have felt the increased prices - some more than others. 19"Those with more money in their wallets buy more, and those with less buy less," he said. 20In Pakistan, store owner Mohammad Ali said some customers are no longer buying meat. They buy more vegetables and beans instead. But even the price of vegetables, beans, rice and wheat are up as much as 50 percent. 21Sitting in her home outside Pakistan's capital of Islamabad, 45-year-old Zubaida Bibi said, "Our life was never easy, but now the price of everything has increased so much that it has become difficult to live." 22I'm Gregory Stachel 23Reuters reported this story. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. 24__________________________________________________________________ 25Words in This Story 26global - adj. involving the entire world 27factor - n. something that helps produce or influence a result 28merger - n. the act or process of combining two or more businesses into one business 29wallet - n. a small folding case that holds paper money or credit cards 30___________________________________________________________________ 31What do you think of this story? 32We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 33Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.