Can Food Prices Be Stabilized?

Currently, Russia s greatest economic concern is growing inflationary pressure, driven especially by food prices. Rising food prices are an international phenomenon, and Russia s inflation is driven by the large current account surpluses and capital inflows.

Food prices have increased by 400 per cent.

Per capital global food production was currently lower than in the 1980s, food aid had fallen to its lowest level since the 1970s, and prices on the international food markets had risen considerably.

LONDON With food prices having doubled in the past decade, food security is back on the international agenda. How can the world produce more to feed the next billion people?

(b) Liberalizing food prices and restrictive policies with respect to incomes

Minimum producer prices, which were eliminated for food crops (1996) and cash crops (1997), have been replaced by reference prices.

Rising energy costs have directly affected prices for basic necessities and food.

The continued high prices of food could strain the already low purchasing power of the chronically food insecure population.

In 1979 the scheme was further modified by a switch to a system of food stamps (denominated in monetary terms) and by bringing certain food prices more into line with world prices.

26 International Labour Organization, Statistics on occupational wages and hours of work and on food prices October Inquiry results, 2000 and 2001 (Geneva, 2002).

Many rural households are fragile in that they cannot cope with seasonal fluctuations of food availability and of food prices.

In particular, the volatility of food and commodity prices, including petroleum prices, is seriously denting the financing capacity of many poor countries.

Prices of food, even staple foods, have shot up beyond the reach of average citizens.

If we allow food to be used to produce bio fuels, food prices will be linked to the oil price, as the head of the German farmers association happily announced. Indeed, food prices are currently increasing in Europe, because more and more farmland is being used for bio fuels instead of for food production.

We saw the food riots in 2008, after what I call the silent tsunami of hunger swept the globe when food prices doubled overnight.

These may be either the best country prices or perhaps even international prices, but they are not local farm gate prices.

If the situation was not remedied, freer agricultural trade could magnify the volatility of world food prices.

For example, rising food prices tend to hurt the poor, especially the urban poor, who spend a large share of their income on food unlike agricultural workers, they receive none of the benefits of higher food prices. With swelling urban populations, it will become increasingly difficult to keep a lid on these pressures.

Wal Mart alone accounted for a nearly 10 per cent drop in food prices in the United States.

International Food Policy Research Institute

21. In 1997, Cuba s food import contracts were concluded at prices which totalled some 48 million higher than the prices that could have been obtained in the United States market.

High prices for food items, high unemployment and generally low incomes have reduced access to food, particularly for the most vulnerable sectors of society, including women and children.

Domestic oil prices link up with international oil prices. Since the current round of pricing, international oil prices have increased with fluctuation and Brent crude oil has broken through the 80 mark and continues to increase.

Food prices are rising fast, placing some basic commodities out of reach for a growing portion of the population.

Use of the 1991 local producer prices from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations ( FAO ) instead of the market prices from FAO and the Iranian Ministry of Commerce.

Annual inflation fell from 27.6 per cent at end 2002 to 17.2 per cent at end 2003, owing to the fall in food prices following a favourable food harvest.

With food prices rising sharply, the poor are being hit the hardest, fueling greater poverty, inequality, and resentment. But the same is true in China anti inflation protests are now roiling both countries, owing mainly to rising energy, food, and raw material prices, with food accounting for one third of household spending in China and around 45 in India.

Tons of food gets plowed under the ground because there s so much of it farmers can t get the prices they want. Tons of cheap food (corn, for instance) is used to create more expensive food (like steak).

International cuisine, healthful and nutritious food.

Food prices in Indonesia rose by 130 percent between June 1997 and July 1998, bearing in mind that food constitutes 70 percent of the total expenditure of low income households.

Under the food stamp scheme only households whose declared income was less than a specified level were to receive food stamps, which they could use to buy basic food made available at authorized shops at non subsidized prices.

That place's food is great, and their prices are good, but the fly in the ointment is their terrible location.

Subsidies by rich nations foster over production and thus lead to dumping food on local markets at prices below production.

For this reason of great importance is the introduction of a nutrition programme alongside financial measures to reduce food prices.

228. It seems that the prices of essential food items have gone up faster than the purchasing power of families.

33. Several studies indicated the possibility that international food prices would rise and that the weakest countries would find it difficult to take advantage of the opportunities that should arise when subsidies were reduced.

Today, we provide more than 1,700,000 tons of food at modest prices to 12 million people, almost half of all Venezuelans.

The recent sharp increase in the prices of rice, fish and vegetables has caused a further deterioration in the food situation.

(b) International procurement of strategic food commodities

INFOODS International Network of Food Data Systems

Of course, in very poor countries and regions, where people cannot afford to buy food on world markets, the supply side should not be neglected. Boosting yields of locally grown staple foods (rather than cash crops) would increase self sufficiency and strengthen resilience when international food prices are high.

While higher world farm prices help producers, they hurt urban households in developing countries, many of which are also poor. That is why the recent spike in food prices has led many food growing countries to impose export restrictions and has caused near panic among those concerned about global poverty.

Possibly most clearly visible are impacts on prices, with studies showing that the presence of hypermarkets results in drops in prices for dried food, household goods and personal care, thus increasing the population's disposable income.

Consequently, rice and overall food prices rose by 50 per cent over a 12 month span, according to an April 1998 report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).