Prices for the most basic commodities have been crippling a number of Pacific island communities.
Purchasing food every day is proving a genuine challenge chiefly for residents of Kiribati, Niue and Tuvalu, which are among the nations most affected by global inflation, according to the Asian Development Bank's most recent economic monitor report.
"The distance of these economies from markets and narrow production bases ...increase their susceptibility to high transportation costs," the report's authors state.
Tuvalu experienced the highest consumer price hike overall at 31 per cent by the end of 2023 over a four-year period, with food prices rising by 42 per cent.
The inflation surge in Tuvalu comes in part from the implementation of 'sin' (excise) taxes and high fuel prices that have resulted from Russia's war in Ukraine and its impact on oil supply, according to the Pacific-based economists Isoa Wainiqolo, Lily-Anne Homasi, Ana Isabel Jimenez and Jennifer Umlas.
Inflation in Kiribati reached 25.1 per cent year-on-year by January 2023 due to an increase in domestic demand, supply shortages, higher global commodity prices and rising freight costs, the authors revealed.
Although inflation has since gone down by 2.1 per cent in the past 12 months, resulting from the moderation of global commodity prices and improved supply-side conditions, Kiribati's consumer price index has increased by 20 per cent through 2019 until 2023.
"Movements in food prices explained more than 80 per cent of overall price changes in 2020 and about 52 percent in 2022," the report said.
The fallout also has a grave dietary element.
The authors noted price movements made it harder for residents and any visitors in Kiribati to afford nutritional food.
The top seven most obese nations in the world lie in the Pacific for similar reasons that include Kiribati and Tuvalu.
The third most obese over the past decade has been Niue where consumer prices increased by around 20 per cent since 2019.
Food prices in the dependency of Aotearoa - New Zealand had risen by a greater 28 per cent by the end of 2023.
"This upward trend is attributed to the escalating prices of sheep (lamb) and chicken meat," the report said.
Kiribati, Niue and Tuvalu were noted to be susceptible to extreme weather events, including drought, cyclones, heavy rainfall and coastal flooding.
"The combination of high exposure to these disasters and limited capacity for disaster adaptation and mitigation exacerbates their impact on the population," the report said.
"The small size of these economies and high transportation costs make them vulnerable to economic shocks, which can easily strain limited government resources."
Kiribati and Tuvalu have been able to offset the cost of most everyday purchases following economic downturns experienced during the pandemic years that for the most part did not affect the health of their residents through Covid-19 nor their need to isolate at home.
The resumption of infrastructure projects, a fiscal stimulus and social protection spending from government, was attributed to both for not hurting the economy during that recent five-year period.
"A copra subsidy and unemployment benefits supported Kiribati household incomes and domestic consumption, while Tuvalu revived economic activity in construction, trade and hospitality," the report said.
Niue's economy, however, still struggles to recover, with visitor arrivals to the island that only houses less than 2000 residents, remaining below pre-pandemic levels.
