Out of the pickle
China DailyLI MIN/CHINA DAILY Global food prices, especially cereal prices, increased significantly in 2021. During the 1970s oil price crisis, the prices of staple foods, especially rice, rose by more than 100 percent, causing a severe global food crisis. Although the food price spike closely followed oil prices, the drivers of the crisis can be considered a perfect storm of events, including conflict, trade restrictions, macroeconomic shocks and extreme weather events. Food price spikes, reduced incomes and compounded risks will lead to severe and widespread increases in global food insecurity, affecting vulnerable households in almost every country. Driven by surging energy costs, supply curtailments and trade policies, fertilizer prices increased sharply since the third quarter of 2021, reaching their highest levels since the 2008-09 global financial crisis, which could exert inflationary pressures on food prices.