Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the report entitled 2nd National Survey on Food Insecurity 2022 in the Context of the Covid-19 Pandemic in Brazil, published by the Brazilian Research Network on Food and Nutrition Sovereignty and Security, what discussions she has had with her Brazilian counterpart on the findings that the number of people without full access to food in the state of Rio de Janeiro has increased by 400 per cent in the last four years.

We regularly engage with the Government of Brazil at Ministerial level and through our Embassy in Brazil on the issues of food security and commodity prices. During our visit to Brazil in March 2022, Minister Jayawardena and I discussed the impact of the Ukraine conflict on global food security.

Through our climate partnership with Brazil the UK also supports Brazil's sustainable agriculture ambitions.

The UK is working with Brazil and other international partners in multilateral fora, such as the World Trade Organisation, to monitor and address global food security issues, focusing on the ongoing benefits of open markets, and working to ensure that sufficient, safe, affordable and nutritious food continues to available and accessible to all.