The World Bank published on April 25, 2025 its “Food Security Update” report in which it provides a glimpse on the year-on-year change in the food component of a country’s Consumer Price Index (CPI). In details, the report revealed that food price inflation remains elevated across all countries’ income categories, with 78.9% of low-income, 47.8% of lower-middle-income, 47.0% of upper-middle-income and 17.9% of high-income countries having food price inflation levels exceeding 5%. The World Bank noted that real food price inflation (which is defined as nominal food inflation minus overall inflation) has exceeded real overall inflation in 60% of the 162 countries for which both food CPI and overall CPI indexes are available. The report also noted that nominal food price inflation in Lebanon has been following a downward trajectory, casting an annual change of 20.5% in February 2025, down from 20.9% in January and 103.3% in February 2024 as sketched in the chart below:

The World Bank estimated that the recent conflict in Lebanon has resulted in $79 million in damages and $742 million in losses to the country’s agricultural and food sectors. In addition, the report stated that some $412 million is needed for reconstruction and recovery of the concerned sectors. Furthermore, the report noted that cash assistance in Lebanon covers 53% of Lebanese and Syrian refugees’ food needs.

The report also mentioned that as of April 2025, 19 countries have implemented 25 food export bans on major food commodities in order to prevent additional internal food shortages, while 8 have adopted 12 export-limiting measures. With regards to Lebanon, the report mentioned that the country has implemented on March 18, 2022 export bans on processed fruits & vegetables, milled grain products, sugar, and bread, spanning until end of year 2024.