Global food import bill could stabilise at USD 1.29 trillion in 2014 but expenses on import of animal products are set to increase due to rising volumes and prices, according to the United Nations food agency FAO.
In 2013, world food import bill was USD 1.28 trillion.
"At USD 1.29 trillion, world expenditures on imported foodstuffs in 2014 are tentatively forecast to remain close to last year's revised level, but 6 per cent below the record of 2012," the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said in its latest report.
The tendency for global import bills to be steady in 2014 extends to many of the most economically vulnerable nations, such as those in the groups of Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Low Income Food Deficit Countries (LIFDCs) and those geographically situated in sub-Saharan Africa (excluding South Africa), it said.
"Prospects for abundant domestic crops in these countries in 2014, particularly for staples, are expected to limit their need to rely on foreign supplies," the FAO said.
The stability of global imported food costs masks considerable movements across individual product bills. "Freight costs, which are not expected to vary significantly from 2013 levels, also contribute to stability," it said.
It also added that for the fifth year in succession, the world food import bill is expected to surpass USD 1 trillion.
According to the UN agency, of the commodities foreseen to undergo the largest changes, products in the animal protein category, including meat, dairy and fish, could rise together by as much as 10 per cent to around USD 434 billion.
The expected increase in these bills is based on much larger volumes of imports as well as higher world quotations, especially for dairy products.
Similarly, rising prices of coffee are expected to result in an increase of 12 per cent in total expenditures on tropical beverages at USD 100 billion in 2014, as against USD 89 billion last year.
By contrast, lower international prices anticipated for sugar combined with lower import demand could result in bills falling by 7 per cent to USD 45 billion in 2014 from USD 48 billion in the last year, as per the FAO report.
Expenditures on imported vegetable oils are expected to remain virtually unchanged from last year's level of USD 219 billion. As for cereals, reduced import volumes, and lower quotations could bring cereal bills down by 15 per cent to USD 165 billion from 2013 level of USD 196 billion.
"The share of staples in food import bills continues to decline and is expected to account for under 13 per cent of the world bill in 2014 compared to over 15 per cent last year," FAO said.
With higher international prices for key export primary commodities such as coffee and cocoa, the terms-of-trade in food and agriculture for commodity-dependent countries is expected to improve, it added.
