"The world food prices had jumped by almost 13 percent in March 2022. It had the possibility to rise further," the minister stated at the 2022 G20 Indonesia High-Level Seminar in Nusa Dua, Badung, Bali, Friday.
Sri Mulyani noted that this condition was causal to the rising hunger levels globally. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the worsening export restrictions have exacerbated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, thereby resulting in supply-demand mismatches and supply disruptions that had pushed up the food prices.
Challenges in the global economy are likely to continue and force food prices to increase, she remarked.
"The current situation in 2022 is projected to worsen, and this is not good news for all of us," she stated.
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According to Sri Mulyani, the COVID-19 pandemic and conflict in Russia were likely to worsen the food security situation in 2022.
In addition, the fertilizer crisis that threatens the world can also likely worsen and prolong the food crisis, even until 2023 and beyond. Thus, the world must work together to solve this food crisis issue.
Sri Mulyani called to apply all financing mechanisms to save lives and strengthen financial and social stability, especially for low-income and developing countries.
"A good macroeconomic policy must be maintained to thrive and address this problem," she affirmed.
Sri Mulyani stated that the food security and food crisis were discussed during the G20 forum. During the Indonesian Presidency in G20, members of G20 identified the pressing need to solve such problems as well as take concrete steps and cooperate with international organizations to address the issue of food security, especially for countries in need.
Indonesia, holding the G20 Presidency, also presses for concrete actions to address the increasing food crisis and related challenges, she concluded.
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Translator: Agatha Olivia V, Resinta S
Editor: Suharto
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