Coarse grain prices across the West Africa sub region has witnessed lower growth, compared with a year earlier, according to Food Price Monitoring and Analysis (FPMA) Bulletin of the Food and Agriculture Organisation(FAO).
FPMA, is part of the Global Information and Early Warning System(GIWES) on Food and Agriculture, also noted that the prices backward integration of the government contributed to price hike.
It said that in most countries of the sub-region, adequate market supplies contributed to keep prices relatively stable in January and down from a year earlier,
However, in conflict-affected areas, persisting civil insecurity continued to hamper market activities and to keep food prices at relatively high levels.
According to the report, “In addition, Nigeria’s land border closure (FPMA Food Policies) continued to impact regional trade flows and provoke high commodity prices in border areas of neighbouring countries.
“In Burkina Faso, prices of millet and sorghum held steady or increased in January, but remained lower than their year-earlier values as a result of the good output last year.
“Similarly, in Mali, adequate domestic availabilities contributed to keep prices of millet and sorghum overall stable in January and below their levels a year earlier.
“In these countries, however, limited market availabilities and high food prices were reported in the areas affected by insecurity,” it stated.
For Niger, prices of millet strengthened in most markets in January, while those of sorghum remained virtually unchanged or weakened where the harvest is still ongoing.
Persistent insecurity and restrictions on border trade with Nigeria contributed to limit market availabilities and to provide upward pressure on prices in some areas. Also in Chad, in the Lake Chad and Tibesti regions, the conflict continued to affect trade flows, putting upward pressure on food prices.
It added that, “in Senegal, prices of millet increased in most markets in December and were higher than a year earlier due to a reduced output in 2019.
“In the coastal countries along the Gulf of Guinea, in Ghana and Togo, prices of maize remained relatively stable or increased seasonally in January, but were generally below their year-earlier values mostly on account of the good supplies from the 2019 harvests.”
