The cost of nutritious food in South Asia

The high cost of nutritious foods can worsen poor diets and
nutrition outcomes especially among low-income households.
Yet little is known about the spatial and temporal
patterns of the cost of nutritious diets in South Asia, where
malnutrition in multiple forms remains high. Using existing
food price data from Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and
India, two methods are applied to assess the affordability
of nutritious foods: Cost of a Recommended Diet (CoRD)
and Nutritious Food Price Index (NPI). The analysis finds
that the cost of a nutritious diet is 38 percent higher in
Sri Lanka using CoRD compared to the cost of a (calorie-based)
diet that meets basic food needs, and 15 percent
higher in Afghanistan. In addition, CoRD varies across
cities due to variability in the price of dairy and vegetables.
Comparison of the NPI and the food Consumer Price
Index (CPI) indicates that, for some countries, the price
of a nutritious food basket varies more by season and has
been increasing at a faster rate than the price of a typical
food basket. This phenomenon is largely due to the variable
cost of vegetables.