The Hindu Business Line : No short-term relief in world food prices: FAO

Food for thought: Mr Jacques Diouf, Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, and the Union Agriculture Minister, Mr Sharad Pawar, during a press conference in the Capital on Wednesday. —

Our Bureau

New Delhi, April 9 The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) on Wednesday said global commodity prices were far from easing in the short term owing to tight supply- demand situation and warned of flare-ups over food shortage.

“The rise in prices of food commodities all over the world, is not going to ease in the short term in view of supply-demand situation,” Mr Jacques Diouf, FAO Director-General, told reporters after meeting the Union Minister of Food and Agriculture, Mr Sharad Pawar.

The UN FAO Director General said the world stocks could feed the global population for up to a maximum of 12 weeks, and grain supplies were at their lowest since the 1980s.

“The world food situation is very serious today with food riots reported from many countries such as Egypt, Cameroon, Haiti, Burkina Faso and Senegal. We fear that this may spread to other countries,” he added.

Commodity prices

People in developing countries spend 50-60 per cent of their income on food and, therefore, are most susceptible to food price rises, noted Mr Diouf.

A high oil and fuel prices and rising demand for food in developing countries, particularly China and India, and use of agricultural for production of bio-fuels, speculation on futures markets were all affecting commodity prices.

In 2007 alone, according to the FAO’s world food index, dairy prices rose nearly 80 per cent and grain 42 per cent. Rice prices in Thailand is reported to have doubled since the beginning of this year after India heavily restricted and then banned the export of non-basmati rice to stock its own supplies.

The wholesale price inflation, at seven per cent, hit its highest in more than three years in March.

Stocks

However, Mr Pawar expressed confidence in the country’s food situation and stocks.

“We have over half a million tons of food grain surplus than the buffer norms as on April 1 this year,” he said. Welcoming the economic growth in India and China, Mr Diouf said “I also hope they will invest in agriculture because these two countries account for 2.2 billion people out of six billion.”

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