World Food Programme Fighting Hunger Worldwide

This bulletin provides information on price changes for the most commonly consumed staples and their potential impacts on the cost of the basic food basket.

The purpose of this report is to provide insights into markets and supply conditions in responding to food demand of famine-affected people in southern Somalia. It is based mainly on secondary data review and insights from key informant traders and partners. The dynamic nature of markets is acknowledged and therefore the findings are interpreted against the historical information available during the period of the mission (30 August-20 September 2011).

The Market Analysis Sub-group of the Food Security and Nutrition Working Group (FSNWG) monitors cross-border trade of 88 food commodities and livestock in 26
cross-border markets in eastern Africa in order to quantify the contribution of formal and informal cross-border trade to food security in the region.

Data was collected by a network of border monitors based at selected border points. Borders throughout the region have been surveyed and the most active and important borders have been selected for monitoring.

This report, based on detailed literature review and discussions with selected key informants, presents a summary of current evidence and understanding of the impact of HFP (High Food Prices) in the Southern Africa region.