Sri Lanka ranked in top five for highest food price inflation
Sri Lanka has been ranked fifth among 10 countries with the highest food price inflation in the world in the latest World Bank assessment.
According to the World Bank food security update, fertilizer and fuel shortages for land preparation, transport and harvesting activities, would limit the food supply in the country.
“Some relief is coming from the first shipment of 44,000 tonnes of Urea supported by Indian credit (and 21,000 tonnes is expected to arrive soon). There has been an increase in demand for Indian rice, with roughly 9.6 million tonnes shipped this year,” the assessment said.
According to the assessment Lebanon, Zimbabwe, Venezuela and Turkey are ranked as top four countries while Iran, Argentina, Suriname, Ethiopia and Moldova ranked behind.
The report stated that Pakistan, Bhutan and Sri Lanka among the South Asian countries are experiencing significant shortages in domestic food supply.
The report observed that the war in Ukraine, supply chain disruptions, continued economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic and ban on exports are major reasons behind the food price inflation.