The rising costs of nutritious foods: The case of Ethiopia

Costs of healthy diets are worryingly rising in a number of developed and emerging economies. However, less is known on these costs for developing countries. Using price data from a large number of markets in Ethiopia, we find that real prices of all nutritionally-rich food groups increased signific...

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Autores principales: Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane, Minten, Bart
Formato: Artículo preliminar
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: International Food Policy Research Institute 2019
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/145957
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author Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane
Minten, Bart
author_browse Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane
Minten, Bart
author_facet Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane
Minten, Bart
author_sort Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Costs of healthy diets are worryingly rising in a number of developed and emerging economies. However, less is known on these costs for developing countries. Using price data from a large number of markets in Ethiopia, we find that real prices of all nutritionally-rich food groups increased significantly (between 19 and 62 percent) over the period 2007 to 2016. This contrasts with (1) staple crops (grains, roots, and tubers), which did not show any price increase, and (2) oils, fats, and sugar, the prices of which decreased substantially. Using detailed nationwide datasets and relying on time series methods, we link these price increases to changes in local markets, demand and supply factors, transaction costs, and international trade. We find that prices of nutritionally-rich food groups – compared to cereals – are relatively less affected by international trade and exchange rate changes but more so by rapidly increasing local and city demand. This rising demand is likely due to recent income growth and rapid urbanization and the high-income elasticities for nutritious foods in Ethiopia. Moreover, we find that local production changes affected prices of nutritious items little, but national price rises were found to have been significantly linked with food price rises in commercial clusters in the country. Changes in transaction costs – fuel and transport costs – explained relatively little of the observed food price changes.
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spelling CGSpace1459572025-11-06T05:30:25Z The rising costs of nutritious foods: The case of Ethiopia Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane Minten, Bart costs healthy diets nutrition econometrics retail prices food prices Costs of healthy diets are worryingly rising in a number of developed and emerging economies. However, less is known on these costs for developing countries. Using price data from a large number of markets in Ethiopia, we find that real prices of all nutritionally-rich food groups increased significantly (between 19 and 62 percent) over the period 2007 to 2016. This contrasts with (1) staple crops (grains, roots, and tubers), which did not show any price increase, and (2) oils, fats, and sugar, the prices of which decreased substantially. Using detailed nationwide datasets and relying on time series methods, we link these price increases to changes in local markets, demand and supply factors, transaction costs, and international trade. We find that prices of nutritionally-rich food groups – compared to cereals – are relatively less affected by international trade and exchange rate changes but more so by rapidly increasing local and city demand. This rising demand is likely due to recent income growth and rapid urbanization and the high-income elasticities for nutritious foods in Ethiopia. Moreover, we find that local production changes affected prices of nutritious items little, but national price rises were found to have been significantly linked with food price rises in commercial clusters in the country. Changes in transaction costs – fuel and transport costs – explained relatively little of the observed food price changes. 2019-08-27 2024-06-21T09:05:25Z 2024-06-21T09:05:25Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/145957 en https://hdl.handle.net/10568/148480 https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.134483 Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Policy Studies Institute Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane; and Minten, Bart. 2019. The rising costs of nutritious foods: The case of Ethiopia. ESSP Working Paper 134. Washington, DC and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Policy Studies Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/145957
spellingShingle costs
healthy diets
nutrition
econometrics
retail prices
food prices
Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane
Minten, Bart
The rising costs of nutritious foods: The case of Ethiopia
title The rising costs of nutritious foods: The case of Ethiopia
title_full The rising costs of nutritious foods: The case of Ethiopia
title_fullStr The rising costs of nutritious foods: The case of Ethiopia
title_full_unstemmed The rising costs of nutritious foods: The case of Ethiopia
title_short The rising costs of nutritious foods: The case of Ethiopia
title_sort rising costs of nutritious foods the case of ethiopia
topic costs
healthy diets
nutrition
econometrics
retail prices
food prices
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/145957
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