The dashboard, launched at the event of 2022 EU Agricultural Outlook Conference, will present a wide range of indicators affecting food supply and food security in the EU, such as weather and drought events, freight and energy costs, development of animal diseases and possible trade restrictions. A specific monitoring section will show data on self-sufficiency rates of the most significant agricultural commodities, as well as shares of EU and EU countries' imports for these commodifies and fertilisers. The monthly rates of food inflation in the EU will also be displayed.
The launch of this dashboard was one of the actions foreseen by the Commission in its Communication on Contingency plan for ensuring food supply and food security in times of crisis adopted in November 2021. Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its ensuing impact on agricultural markets due to higher input and energy costs and trade disruptions made this increased monitoring even more relevant.
Thanks to the contribution of the Common Agricultural Policy, the EU is largely self-sufficient for many agricultural products. Therefore, food availability is not at risk in the EU. Food affordability is currently the main challenge that consumers and public authorities face in the EU today. This is why the dashboard will also include the rates of food inflation per type of food and per EU country, as well as details on EU households' food spending per country and income level.
A timely and transparent monitoring of markets and developments affecting them is essential to decide on relevant measures to prevent and mitigate any impacts on food supply and food security. In addition to closely monitoring the situation of food security worldwide, the EU keeps advocating to avoid export restrictions and export bans on food. The present dashboard constitutes part of the action plan that is being implemented by the European Food Security Crisis preparedness and response Mechanism (EFSCM), to strengthen the preparedness and help the responses of public and private sectors as regards to food security.
All information provided will be updated on a regular basis, depending on the availability of data in the source. This is the first release of the dashboard, and in the course of 2023, the dashboard will be further improved with automated visuals, and also include a qualitative assessment of food supply and food security in the EU, based on input provided by EFSCM members 3 times per year.
