World food prices are set to rise further. Farmers have faced floods, tornadoes, volcanoes and droughts. For example, widespread flooding in Australia decimated much of that nation's wheat crops. Buyers from Asia must now tap other markets to meet demand, further driving up prices – don’t look to the USA, US Dep of Agriculture has issued a report predicting a smaller Fall harvest.
This year’s USA corn harvest is expected to be off 305 million bushels and not meet the demand for bio-energy, livestock and export. A bushel is already priced at $7.75 up from $3.20 this time last year and headed toward $9.
Much of the growth in global nutrient use has come from developing countries in Asia and Latin America, as those regions' rising populations and income levels boost the demand for grains and meat, products that hadn't traditionally been part of their diets.
Meat prices are expected to rise a further 7% this year. They are already up 8% year on year.
But price hikes are not confined to meat, corn and wheat. In a basket of 16 common food items, the price has increased 8% year on year. Kraft, Kellogg, Sara Lee and Smucker have all increased their prices.
The G-20 meeting on 22-23 June in Paris will focus on global food issues. They are planning to launch an initiative called “Agriculture Market Information System.” This system would push countries to more honestly report on agriculture. For example, China has always been secretive about its stocks of food. So if China signs on, it would start to release more data about it food inventories and consumption.
So while the G-20 launch their monitoring system, I hope the 1 out 4 people (yes that’s 1.4 billion of us) on this planet who are starving today will truly appreciate their resolve & leadership in solving the hunger problem.
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