KUCHING: Governments and industry stakeholders are urged to address food security and mitigate rising food price fluctuations across Southeast Asia while maintaining their climate targets.
According to the latest report by Oxford Economics, extreme weather events coupled with the cost of the energy transition could result in Southeast Asia’s food prices increasing by between 30 and 59 per cent.
In a statement by Food Industry Asia (FIA), it pointed out that across Southeast Asia, average temperatures are now three degrees higher than in pre-industrial periods making extreme weather events more common and causing greater disruption to farming productivity.
It added that Oxford Economics’ modeling demonstrates that every 1 per cent increase in average temperatures raises food production prices by 1-2 per cent across Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines.
“The Philippines is more vulnerable to temperature changes due to its climate-related weather events and the weaker ability of its food production to respond to them.
“According to the report, climate change is already responsible for a 6 per cent increase in food prices in the Philippines over the past decade.
“In Malaysia, a 2.1 per cent temperature increase was found to have increased food prices by 2.9 per cent over the same period.”
Meanwhile, as governments and private sectors strive to meet targets of net-zero emissions by 2050, the cost of energy, labour and other areas of manufacturing and distribution rises.
According to the report, it noted that Indonesia faces the greatest exposure to food price increases due to its dependence on fossil fuels and vulnerability to rising global food prices, but all Asean nations will be affected.
This cost, it said, will be passed on to consumers, profoundly affecting low-income families who spend around 10 per cent more of their income on food than the average household.
Commenting on this matter, Asean Food and Beverage Alliance (AFBA) senior advisor S Yogendran stressed that there is an urgent need for governments and industry leaders to come together and address the challenge of driving the energy transition in Southeast Asia, while easing the impact of rising food costs.
“Families across Southeast Asia are already feeling the pinch of rising food costs. Without coordinated action from governments and industry, achieving net-zero targets could make basic nutrition unaffordable for many.”
He added that there is a great opportunity to harness rising Foreign Direct Investment into Asean countries and channel it into developing a more sustainable food production system.
“This is a global issue – our Asean food producers are integral to global supply chains and a rise in prices here could push up inflation around the world. Whether it’s through expertise or investment, all governments should be supporting Asean policymakers on a solution.”
