World Food Vulnerability Doubles, Ukraine War Aggravates This Condition

Illustration (Photo: Doc. Ministry of Finance)

JAKARTA – Minister of Finance (Menkeu) Sri Mulyani stated that the issue of food security had been the topic of G20 discussion in previous years.

However, the World Food Program (WFP) informs that the number of people facing acute food insecurity has more than doubled since 2019 from 135 million to 345 million.

"The war in Ukraine and export restrictions have exacerbated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in a mismatch between supply and demand for food products, resulting in an increase in food prices," he said in a press statement on Saturday, July 16.

According to the Minister of Finance, world food prices soared by almost 13 percent in March and could potentially reach 20 percent by the end of 2022.

"There is a possibility that challenges to the global economy will continue, resulting in food prices remaining high in the future," he said.

The Minister of Finance added that collaboration between countries and international organizations is needed to overcome this.

“There is an urgency to address issues related to food security. The deployment of various financing facilities is needed to overcome the problem of hunger and create social and financial stability, especially in poor and developing countries,” he said.

The state treasurer also said that if necessary, it was necessary to ensure that there was a system of collaboration and cooperation to overcome food insecurity, both in the short and long term, while still paying attention to the issue of economic and environmental sustainability.

For information, Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani's statement was delivered at the High Level Seminar on Strengthening Global Collaboration for Tackling Food Insecurity, as part of the Third Meeting of the Ministers of Finance and Governors of Central Banks (3rd FMCBG) G20 in Bali this week.

The meeting was attended by finance ministers from several G20 members, as well as leaders of various international organizations. The meeting aims to address challenges related to food security and discuss the potential for global collaboration to address global challenges.