AFBF: U.S. Has Most Affordable Food Supply

A new analysis by the American Farm Bureau Federation shows the United States has the most affordable food supply.  Megan Nelson, AFBF economic analyst, researched global food prices and said the statistics were eyeopening.

“American actually have the most affordable basket of groceries. The amount of money that each individual spends out of their disposable income on food is about 4.8%. That was from 2017. That’s substantially lower that a lot of other areas.”

Nelson said people in low-income countries must spend a higher percentage of their household budget on food.  In counties high-incomes countries, consumers pay less than 10% of their income on food, where poorer, developing countries, that figure may be as high as 50%; a statistic she noted that’s been true since the 1800's.

Nelson added its important agricultural trade and policy help reduce global food price volatility.

“The importance of keeping price predictable for not only farmers, but all individuals in these low-income countries is paramount. We really need to be able to stabilize markets abroad and build up trading partners, instead of having unstable trade flow.”

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