The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization released its Food Outlook yesterday (November 7). The report finds that high commodity prices, including high cereal prices, have led to escalating prices of food and feed through out the world.
In its coverage of the report, the FT writes:
Poor developing countries will be forced to cut food consumption and risk a rise in malnutrition after an "alarming" increase in their agricultural commodities bills, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation warned yesterday.
In its biannual Food Outlook report, the FAO -predicted that prices, particularly cereals, would remain high in 2008, having hit record levels this year.
"Given the firmness of food prices in the international markets, the situation could deteriorate further in the coming months, leading to a reduction in imports and consumption in many low-income food-deficit countries," the report said.
Ali Arslan Gurkan, chief of commodity markets and -policy analysis at the FAO in Rome, said sub--Saharan countries were most at risk and added that high prices meant it was increasingly difficult to meet UN goals on hunger reduction.
The report finds that increasing demand for food, feed and biofuels combined with poor weather conditions in some parts of the world and rising oil prices and shipping costs have created the conditions for rising prices. While food prices are rising everywhere, it is important to remember that the impact of high food prices will be felt disproportionately by poor people.
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