KEY MESSAGES
In West Africa, staple food prices remained stable or continued to decrease in February due to the availability of supplies from recent harvests across most of the Sahel, imports, and off-season crops. Millet and sorghum supplies declined in structurally-deficit areas following seasonal trends. Cereals prices increased in some areas due to large institutional purchases. Cereal prices increased gradually on most markets in northern Nigeria in February because of atypically low market supplies due to low trade flows resulting from civil insecurity and flood-related crop losses.
Cereals trade flows into northern Mali were limited despite the recent lull in active conflict that led officials to lift roadblocks into the area from Southern Mali and neighboring Niger (Pages 4-6).In East Africa, staple food prices continued to decline seasonally in most markets in February as fresh supplies from recent harvests continued arriving on markets. Sorghum prices increased on some markets in South Sudan and Sudan due to the adverse macro-economic situation related to reduced oil revenues, trade disruptions, and localized production shortfalls. Grain prices in Ethiopia started to increase seasonally in February with the start of the lean season in the Belg-producing highlands. Livestock prices in Somalia, Ethiopia’s Somali region, and Kenya’s pastoral areas started to decline with the progression of the January-to-March dry season (Pages 7-10).
In Southern Africa, staple food prices continued to increase in February as the lean season progressed. Tight regional supplies due to localized production shortfalls and strong export and institutional demand put upward pressure on prices. In Malawi, these general factors were compounded by macro-economic stability and high market costs, leading to atypical prices increases country-wide (Pages 11-13).
In Haiti, local black bean and maize flour prices were stable or increased in February, while imported rice and wheat flour prices remained stable following global price trends. In Central America, black and red beans prices were stable between January and February while maize prices started to increase seasonally (Pages 13-14).
In Afghanistan and Tajikistan, wheat grain and flour prices were stable in February.
High-priced regional imports and local marketing constraints put upward pressure on wheat, wheat flour, and rice prices in some markets (Page 15).International rice prices remained stable in February. Maize and wheat prices also remained stable at high levels in February due to tight global supplies and strong demand (Figure 2). Crude oil prices have continued to trend upward due uncertainties about U.S. and European economies and fuel consumption outpacing production (Pages 2-3).