Summary
22 June 2011
The world faces "a century of hunger" if the international community cannot agree on new rules regarding food prices, the French agriculture minister has warned.
Reporter:
Nigel Cassidy
G20 hopes to agree on food prices
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Report
With global food prices up 40% on average since last summer, there's a new consensus among the leading nations that they should act together not only to try and secure supplies but to curb some of the causes of the volatility, not just in commodity trading but on the streets as essential foods become unaffordable for some.
The G20 nations hope to calm food markets by agreeing greater transparency in how much dairy, grain, rice or other foodstuffs each country is producing.
Now strong demand for farm foods seem likely to push up prices for years to come but President Sarkozy also blames speculators for price hikes which have fuelled unrest in the Middle East and North Africa but his demand for curbs on investors taking positions in food commodities seem unlikely to get majority support.
But another idea that may not get traction in Paris is a plan for countries to hold, say, grain or rice stocks in reserve. An idea seen as a throwback to the days when countries and not farmers controlled their own food production.
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Vocabulary
- consensus
an opinion that all members of a group agree with
- to curb
to control or limit
- volatility
suddenly and unexpected changes in price
- commodity trading
buying or selling a product or raw material, especially between countries
- transparency
openness, to remove any secrecy
- foodstuffs
substances that are used as food
- speculators
people who buy and sell goods or shares in a company in the hope of making a profit
- price hikes
sudden increases in the price of goods
- fuelled unrest
increased an uneasy or troubled situation
- a throwback
a situation that is similar to something that existed in the past
