Even When Enough Food Exists, Transport Costs and Inequality Keep It Out of Reach, Study Finds

Producing enough food is only part of ensuring global food security — getting it to where it is needed matters just as much, a study led by the University of Oulu with Aalto University and Pellervo Economic Research (PTT) in Finland has found. The researchers built a spatial accessibility framework combining global data on food production, demand, transport infrastructure and costs, focusing on six crop groups — including wheat, maize, rice and pulses — that together make up roughly half of all internationally traded food calories.

"The study highlights that food availability alone does not guarantee food accessibility. Transport costs and economic inequalities can limit access to food even when sufficient supplies exist," said researcher Terhi Ala-Hulkko of the University of Oulu. The team tested three scenarios: equal transport costs everywhere, real economic differences between regions, and disruptions from production losses or infrastructure damage.

The analysis found that today's transport network cannot fully balance global food supply and demand, with shortages most pronounced in parts of Asia and Africa. Economic inequality was the most influential factor: when income and food-spending gaps were factored in, both food surpluses and unmet demand rose at once, most of that unmet demand concentrated in South, East and Southeast Asia. In Africa, much of the region's food would theoretically be accessible if transport costs were equal everywhere, but factoring in the higher costs many African regions actually face left substantially more food undelivered.

"As transport networks are the backbone of the global food delivery system, improving food security is therefore not only about producing enough food in a sustainable way, but also about ensuring that food can reach the people who need it," said research director Ossi Kotavaara of the University of Oulu, adding that this means paying attention to road and maritime infrastructure, transport costs and economic inequality together. The study is published in the Journal of Cleaner Production.