Page 8 - Food Inflation in Southeast Asia 2

Economic and physical

access to food

Economic and physical access to food is shaped by various factors, including household income, spending habits,
the availability and variety of nearby markets, and food prices. Households in remote areas, where food markets are
scarce, face difficulties in obtaining food due to the need to travel, which adds extra costs. Conflicts or disruptions in
the supply chain can further hinder food access, leading to price increases. A lack of domestic production or limited
competition from a small number of private food suppliers can also drive-up consumer prices. Essential staples like rice
are hard to replace, so when their prices rise, they disproportionately affect low-income households. These households
already spend a large portion of their income on food, leaving less for other essential services like health, education, and
recreation. As food prices climb, they are forced to allocate even more of their budget to food, diminishing their ability
to spend on these other critical needs. As a result, rising food prices can severely impact the quality of life for poorer
households.

For the purpose of this policy paper, the author has focused only on the trends in consumer food price inflation in the
Southeast Asian countries with a focus on Brunei.

Figure 1: presents the trends in the movement of Consumer Food Price Indices i.e., CFPI (Base 2015=100) of various
Southeast Asian countries (January 2000 – March 2024). As compared to the other Southeast Asian countries and also
the mean and the median CFPI of the Southeast Asian region as a whole, the movement of CFPI of Brunei has been
more stable and the slope is less steep. The CFPI line graph of Lao People's Democratic Republic has become the
steepest roughly in the last 2-3 years.
Food price inflation

Figure 1: Trends in CFPI (Base 2015=100) of various Southeast Asian countries (January, 2000 – March, 2024)

Source: FAO, https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/CP (accessed in September, 2024)

8 THE CHALLENGE OF FOOD INFLATION IN SOUTHEAST ASIA