KEY MESSAGES
Across most of West Africa, food prices remained stable or decreased in January as staple food availability continued to improve with the ongoing marketing season. Staple food prices increased in areas affected by flooding in Nigeria as well as in areas with market disruptions linked to conflict in northern Mali (Pages 4-6).
In East Africa, staple food prices continued to decline seasonally in most markets in January. However, maize prices increased unseasonably in Rwanda due to late harvests, and in Tanzania, due to below-average Vuli season production in the bimodal areas (Pages 7-9).
In Southern Africa, food prices increased in January as the lean season progressed. Localized production shortfalls, high fuel costs, and strong export and institutional demand continued to exert upward pressure on food prices in markets Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, and Mozambique (Pages 10-12).
In Haiti, black bean prices continued to increase due to domestic production deficits. Imported rice and wheat prices remained stable at high levels in January due to consistent supplies. In Central America, red and black bean prices were seasonally stable in January while maize prices started to increase seasonally (Pages 12-13).
In Afghanistan and Tajikistan, wheat flour and grain prices were stable in January. High-priced regional imports and local marketing constraints put upward pressure on prices in some markets (Page 14).
International maize and wheat prices remained stable at high levels in January due to tight global supplies and strong import demand (Figure 1). Rice export prices were stable (Pages 2-3).
