Economics
World’s Food Bill to Drop Thanks to Cheaper Coffee and Shipping
- Global import bill to drop 2.5% to $1.47 trillion in 2019: FAO
- There’s ample supply of some foods; freight costs have fallen
A worker pours green coffee beans into a grader.
Photographer: Jeff Holt/Bloomberg
This article is for subscribers only.
Cheaper coffee, oilseeds and shipping costs mean the world’s food import bill is expected to fall for the first time in four years.
The cost of buying food from abroad may drop 2.5 percent to $1.47 trillion this year, according to the the United Nations’ Food & Agriculture Organization. The FAO doesn’t forecast increases for any of the main food groups and coffee, tea, cocoa and vegetable oil prices are expected to fare worst.