HIGH FOOD PRICES IN AFRICA: causes, consequences and agenda for action

The report argues that high food prices in Africa are driven by a combination of climate change, global shocks like the Russia-Ukraine war, and systemic market failures. It highlights extreme corporate concentration in seeds, agrochemicals, and trading, which allows a few firms to capture excess margins at the expense of small-scale farmers and urban consumers. Using maize and soybean markets in East and Southern Africa as case studies, the authors demonstrate how poor regional trade and market power lead to price spikes and reduced production. The document proposes an agenda for action centered on real-time market monitoring via the African Market Observatory, strengthened competition enforcement, and investments in climate-resilient infrastructure.

• High food prices in Africa result from 'broken food markets which fail to address the impacts of climate change', leading to a 'double burden of malnutrition' characterized by obesity alongside stunting and wasting.
• While the Russia-Ukraine war increased global prices, spikes in East Africa were significantly higher; for example, bulk maize prices in Kenya more than doubled in the first half of 2022 to over $600/t, while international prices rose by 40% to just over US$360/t in March 2022.
• Global agri-food value chains are dominated by a few transnational corporations, with the top four firms in agrochemicals accounting for two-thirds of global sales. This concentration is mirrored in East and Southern Africa, where four or fewer companies control almost all sales of maize, soybean, and sunflower seed in South Africa.
• Market failures in East Africa have created large price margins between producing areas and consuming cities. Analysis suggests that maize prices in East African cities in July 2022 should have been 30–40% lower, implying that large traders and processors earned 'super-profits' at the expense of farmers and consumers.
• In Malawi, a 'margin squeeze' occurred where local soybean prices hit US$1,350/t in January 2022 despite a good crop, harming poultry and fish farmers while large crushing companies exported oilcake at much lower prices (US$600/t).
• Rising fertiliser prices, which doubled globally between September and November 2021, led to reduced maize production in 2021/22, including a decline of almost 25% to 2.7 million tonnes in Zambia.
• The authors propose a three-part agenda for action: investing in resilient infrastructure (irrigation, storage, and logistics), utilizing the African Market Observatory (AMO) for real-time market monitoring to improve the bargaining power of small farmers, and ramping up the powers of competition authorities to tackle cartels and market concentration.

APA

African Climate Foundation (n.d.). HIGH FOOD PRICES IN AFRICA: causes, consequences and agenda for action. https://africanclimatefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/800690-01-ACF-Position-Papers-COP27-Food-Prices-05.pdf

Chicago

African Climate Foundation. HIGH FOOD PRICES IN AFRICA: causes, consequences and agenda for action. n.d. https://africanclimatefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/800690-01-ACF-Position-Papers-COP27-Food-Prices-05.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=African Climate Foundation |title=HIGH FOOD PRICES IN AFRICA: causes, consequences and agenda for action |url=https://africanclimatefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/800690-01-ACF-Position-Papers-COP27-Food-Prices-05.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{africanclimatefoundationndhigh, author = {{African Climate Foundation}}, title = {{HIGH FOOD PRICES IN AFRICA: causes, consequences and agenda for action}}, institution = {African Climate Foundation}, url = {https://africanclimatefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/800690-01-ACF-Position-Papers-COP27-Food-Prices-05.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }