Since 2005, the price of many staple foods has surged. The cost of maize increased over 80%, milk powder by 90%, wheat by 70% and rice by about 25%.
Food riots have broken out in Haiti, Morocco, Yemen, Mexico, Guinea, Mauritania, Senegal and Uzbekistan. Thirty-three countries are now in danger of political destabilisation and internal conflict following food price inflation.
UN World Food Programme research indicates as many as 130 million people have been pushed into absolute poverty by these food price rises.
In 1986, 20% of foreign aid was devoted to agriculture in the developing world. By 2006, that had shrunk to less than 3%.
About 70% of developing countries are net importers of food. At least 29 countries have sharply curbed exports of wheat, rice and corn.
A record two billion tonnes of grain were produced last year, up 4% on 2006. Less than half is eaten by people. Most goes into animal feed and, recently, biofuels.
The world’s population is expected to expand from 6.7 billion to 9.2 billion by 2050. If the emerging economies want to eat a western diet, it is unlikely the world can feed this many people.
The International Food Policy Research Institute attributed about 30% of the 2006–07 food price increase to biofuels.
On international commodity markets, food prices are up 54% over the last year, with cereal prices up 92%. Investment funds now control 50–60% of the wheat traded on commodity markets.
Cargill, the world’s biggest grain trader, increased its commodity trading profits by 86% in the first quarter of 2008, to US$1 billion. Monsanto, the world’s largest seed company, doubled its first quarter income over the same period, to $1.12 billion.
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