Assessing the role of global food commodity prices in achieving the 2030 agenda for SDGs

Yifan Shen; Yanan Chen; Xunpeng Shi; Yunfei An; Muyi Yang; Yunting Qi

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2024.108832

Assessing the role of global food commodity prices in achieving the 2030 agenda for SDGs

iScience. 2024 Jan 17;27(2):108832. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.108832. eCollection 2024 Feb 16.

Authors

Yifan Shen¹, Yanan Chen¹, Xunpeng Shi^{2

3}, Yunfei An⁴, Muyi Yang², Yunting Qi⁵

Affiliations

¹ School of Economics and Management, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
² Australia-China Relations Institute, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia.
³ Collaborative Innovation Center for Emissions Trading System Co-constructed by the Province and Ministry, Hubei University of Economics, China.
⁴ Business School, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China.
⁵ School of Social and Public Administration, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China.

Abstract

Food plays a vital role in human sustenance and well-being, and the fluctuations in its price exert a significant impact on the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) from social, economic, and environmental perspectives. This paper conducts an analysis utilizing data from 163 countries, revealing that an upsurge in global food commodity prices entails trade-offs with 13 SDGs, while exhibiting synergies with a few others. By considering specific food products, various types of countries, and the supply and demand shocks, further analysis confirms predominantly negative associations between spikes in food prices and the SDGs. Our findings highlight the urgent imperative to mitigate abrupt increases in food prices, such as those witnessed during the 2022 food crisis, to ensure the comprehensive fulfillment of the 2030 agenda for SDGs.

Keywords: Agricultural resource economics; Food economics.