High Food Prices Impact on Mozambique

Soaring global food prices are negatively impacting Mozambique, especially the poor who already struggle to survive. Extraordinarily high food prices in domestic markets are exacerbating the living conditions of millions of Mozambicans who are plagued by recurrent natural disasters and debilitating poverty – 54 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, 63 percent of rural children live in absolute poverty and 34 percent of households nationwide are food insecure and face perpetual hunger.

There are a number of factors fueling the global high food price crisis, which has wreaked havoc throughout the world in 2008. These include increased demand due to the economic rise of developing countries with large populations and due to the use of food crops in bio-fuel production, as well as high energy costs, prolonged drought in key producing countries, declining global grain stocks, and speculation in international commodity markets.

In Mozambique, high food and fuel prices may jeopardize national development gains of the past few years and may threaten food security and social stability.