(Giuseppe Carotenuto photo courtesy FAO)

FAO chief expects food prices to fall further

Abu Dhabi | Reuters — World food prices are seen falling further this year having settled near their lowest in seven years pressured by slowing economic growth, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) director general said Tuesday. The FAO’s food price index, which measures monthly changes for a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy


Global food prices on the rise again

reuters / Global food prices are rising again, pushed higher by costlier oil, strong demand from Asia and bad weather in parts of Europe, South America and the United States, the World Bank said April 25. The latest World Bank food price index showed the cost of food rose eight per cent between December and

Think-Tank Creates Food Price-Volatility Detector

Anew statistical tool will help world leaders identify when food prices become dangerously volatile and help hunger fighters decide when to release food reserves to feed the poor, said a think-tank July 7. The tool developed by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) could answer two goals of agriculture ministers from the Group of


Scientists Race To Avoid A Bitter Climate Change Harvest

Charlie Bragg gazes across his lush fields where fat lambs are grazing, his reservoirs filled with water, and issues a sigh of relief. Things are normal this year and that’s a bit unusual of late. His 7,000-acre farm near the Australian town of Cootamundra is testament to the plight facing farmers around the globe: increasingly

Cheap Food Versus Expensive Oil

You can’t have cheap food and expensive oil. It just doesn’t work. For hundreds of millions of people who earn only a dollar or two a day, increasing prices for staple foods like grains, pulses, rice and cooking oil is a big deal. Canadians spend only about 11 per cent of their disposable income on


Food Prices Hit “Dangerous Levels”

World Bank chief Robert Zoellick says global food prices have reached “dangerous levels,” and warns that their impact could complicate fragile political and social conditions in the Middle East and Central Asia. World Bank data released on Feb. 15 showed higher food prices – mainly for wheat, maize, sugars and edible oils – have pushed

Food Price Rises Bring Risk Of New Riots

France’s agriculture minister warned the United Nations Feb. 18 that food riots like those of three years ago could break out around the world because of steep rises in food prices. Bruno Le Maire was addressing the General Assembly after the UN Food and Agriculture Organization reported earlier this month that its food price index