Almost 50% of Kyrgyzstanis cannot afford healthy food - FAO

Bishkek, March 2, 2023 /Kabar/. Healthy food in Kyrgyzstan is the most expensive among the post-Soviet countries, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UNFAO) said.

According to data of the organization, 49.6% of Kyrgyzstanis cannot afford the right diet. At the same time, this indicator in the post-Soviet space differs greatly from country to country:

• Azerbaijan - 0%;

• Armenia - 4.29%;

• Belarus - 0.2%;

• Kazakhstan - 1.2%;

• Kyrgyzstan - 49.6%;

• Moldova - 6.75%;

• Russia - 3.5%;

• Tajikistan - 4.21%.

In Azerbaijan, a full meal cost $2.53 a day in 2020, $3.25 in Armenia, $3.31 in Belarus, $2.66 in Kazakhstan, and $3.18 in Kyrgyzstan, in Moldova – $2.81, in Russia – $3.42, in Tajikistan – $3.48, the FAO said.

Experts emphasize that the cost of a healthy diet continues to rise. So, in 2019, 112 million more people could eat well than in 2020. The largest increase in the number of people falling below the “food poverty” line has grown in Asia - by 78 million. The same region has seen the largest increase in the cost of a nutritious food basket - by 4% per year.