New hubs to be launched by the Global Partnership for the True Price of Food, with support from the Netherlands Food Partnership
Utrecht, 5th November 2026 – The Global Partnership on the True Price of Food (GPTPF), is taking its first steps towards localization and planting the first seeds for establishment of country hubs in Egypt and Brazil. The hubs will bring together local businesses, policymakers, researchers, funders and civil society to explore how True Cost Accounting (TCA) and true pricing can make the hidden costs of food visible, and help reduce them.
The GPTPF is a program by the True Price Foundation (TPF), supported by the Netherlands Food Partnership (NFP). In Egypt, TPF works together with New Silk Roads & Helmy Farms, and in Brazil with Sust’nReal, secretariat of the True Food Initiative in Brazil.
“The cheapest food is often the most expensive for society. With hubs in Brazil and Egypt, two countries central to how the world eats, we want to help build food systems where the sustainable choice is also the affordable one” – Claire van den Broek, Managing Director, True Price Foundation.
Making the hidden costs of food visible
The price we pay for food too often fails to reflect its full cost. In 2021, True Price contributed to the Scientific Group of the UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) first global study on the true cost and true price of food. It estimated the hidden costs of the global food system at around USD 20 trillion a year, roughly double the USD 9 trillion the world spends on food.
These costs include around USD 11 trillion in costs to human life and health, USD 7 trillion in environmental costs and USD 1 trillion in economic costs. They are carried by society, often in the countries where food is produced, through degraded nature, illness, food insecurity and underpaid work.
Similarly, with two consecutive flagship publications in 2023 and 2024, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that the global food system generates at least USD 10 trillion a year in hidden costs. FAO’s estimate is lower than the UNFSS figure because it uses different scope and valuation methods, but both studies agree that the real cost of food is far higher than its price.
True Cost Accounting (TCA) makes the hidden costs and benefits of food visible, so businesses, governments and investors can take them into account. True pricing makes these costs visible at every transaction, so actors in the value chain can act to reduce them and make healthy and sustainable food options more accessible.
The Global Partnership for the True Price of Food was initiated in 2022 by Netherlands Food Partnership and True Price Foundation as a follow-up to this study, to help turn its call for action into practice and to continue the work True Price was conducting in the Netherlands but with a focus on LMICs.
Two hubs, one shared ambition
Egypt. Implemented by New Silk Roads, in partnership with local organisation Helmy Farms, the initial phase focuses on identifying the building blocks for the Egypt hub. Through mapping key actors in the Egyptian agri-food sector and conducting stakeholder interviews, we will explore how TCA and the concept of true pricing can gain ground in Egypt. A community event in Cairo later this year will raise awareness of TCA and true pricing and invite stakeholders to get involved.
“True cost accounting is still largely unknown in Egypt, yet it matters enormously for a food system under real pressure on water, soil and livelihoods. Now is the time to act and to bring together the first movers who want to lead this change” – Farah de Haan, Lead consultant True Price Food Hub Egypt, New Silk Roads.
Brazil. Hosted by Sust’nReal, secretariat of the True Food Initiative, the Brazil Hub is reaching out to organisations and people working across the country’s food system, through dialogues and interviews. Together, we will co-create a TCA vision for Brazil’s agri-food system and a first proposal for how the hub will work. The community will come together in a convening moment linked to our upcoming report on the true cost of cocoa and chocolate.
“The hub is a space to build a shared vision of what true pricing can mean for Brazilian food systems, together with the people who will put it into practice. Governments, consumers and businesses are already paying the hidden costs; they just don’t see them. We want to make these costs visible, so leaders can make informed decisions and open the way to scaling sustainable agriculture.” – Andressa de Mello, Sust’nReal and co-founder of True Food
Part of the Global Partnership
As country chapters of the GPTPF, the Egypt and Brazil hubs will share their insights with the wider community, take part in network meetings and the partnership’s newsletter. They will also help shape the GPTPF strategy for 2027–2030, ensuring alignment with the wider TCA ecosystem.
Get involved. Are you a business, government body, knowledge institution, student, funder or civil society organisation in Egypt or Brazil working on sustainable food systems? You can join the GPTPF via this form: Join the Global Partnership True Price of Food
“True pricing and more transparency in value chains – including social and environmental factors – allows consumers and organisations to make conscious choices about the consumption and production of our food. The Egypt and Brazil country hubs turn that idea into collective local action, connecting Egyptian, Brazilian and Dutch stakeholders towards more sustainable and equitable food systems” – Ibrahim Palaz, Team Lead Partnerships, Netherlands Food Partnership.
Contact and general inquiries
globalpartnership@trueprice.org
Visit our website: Global Partnership – True Price Foundation
Hubs contact
- Egypt Hub: Farah de Haan (farah@newsilkroads.org)
- Brazil Hub: Paula Bibar (paula@truefood.net)
