GLOBAL FOOD CRISIS
Tortilla Price Hits Mexican Poor the Hardest
"Whether it is rising demand for food and fuel from India and China, or the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) between Mexico and the United States, there are arguments to be made for cause and effect.
But countries like Mexico have to live with the daunting reality now, that prices of the core-of-life food so many millions rely on may soon start to rise beyond their reach.
And that could cause problems - a staple that may make a country unstable." Link
FOOD CRISIS/BLESSING!
"Japanese importers have reversed their decision to buy 60,000 tonnes of Thai rice, because the price has nearly doubled in a month, " Link
Thailand on Tuesday offered the Japanese government 100 per cent white rice at $1,300 per tonne, nearly 41,000 baht - up from the $720, or 22,700 baht it paid in March. Link
"Japan turned down this offer, saying that the price was too high for their budget," LinkUN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said April 20 rising food costs may hurt economic growth and threaten political security. The World Bank has forecast that 33 nations from Mexico to Yemen may face social unrest because of higher food and energy costs. Link
Western American Wheat Farmers delirious over the rise commodity prices as durum ... Calif. producer John Benson, who has sold his 2008 durum crop for an average of $400 per ton and booked a large portion of his 2009 durum wheat crop for the same price that will not be seeded for six months.
"I have never seen wheat prices half as good as what we are experiencing," said Benson, who has been farming in California's Imperial Valley for 44 years. "I am flabbergasted. It is a once in a lifetime situation. Farmers are taking care of their wheat like never before." Link
GLOBAL FOOD PRICES AND BIOFUELS
"But now a reaction is building against policies in the United States and Europe to promote ethanol and similar fuels, with political leaders from poor countries contending that these fuels are driving up food prices and starving poor people. Biofuels are fast becoming a new flash point in global diplomacy, putting pressure on Western politicians to reconsider their policies, even as they argue that biofuels are only one factor in the seemingly inexorable rise in food prices."
"In some countries, the higher prices are leading to riots, political instability and growing worries about feeding the poorest people. Food riots contributed to the dismissal of Haiti’s prime minister last week, and leaders in some other countries are nervously trying to calm anxious consumers." Link ....... Global Food Crisis
United Nations named 2008 the International Year of the Potato,
BUT .... EU responds ... "BRUSSELS (AFP) - The EU Commission on Monday rejected claims that producing biofuels is a "crime against humanity" that threatens food supplies, and vowed to stick to its goals as part of a climate change package."
U.S. Wheat Export Controls?
"I'm surprised the Bush administration hasn't slapped export controls on wheat," Link. "The Asian countries are here buying every kind of wheat."
"I am concerned that when the news of rice shortage spreads, there will be panic buying and the shelves will be empty in no time. I do not intend to cause a panic, and I am not speculating on rice to make profit. I am just hoarding some for my own consumption,"
California Rations Some Rice
"Due to the limited availability of rice, we are limiting rice purchases based on your prior purchasing history," a sign above the dwindling supply said. Link.
WORLD RICE INSTABILITY WILL LEAD TO .... INSTABILITY!
Ban ki-Moon ... "One thing is certain, the world has consumed more than it has produced"
"MANILA -- A Philippines tender for 500,000 tons of imported rice has fallen short with just 325,750 tons offered, the government said Friday.
Thursday's tender for rice imports highlighted difficulties faced by Manila and fellow rice importers in stocking up on the staple cereal amid surging prices that has triggered food riots in some countries." Link
Philippine Soldiers receive subsidized rice as unrest may follow.
Unrest .... Egypt and Haiti....
In Bangkok, Thai 100 per cent B grade white rice, considered the world's benchmark, hit $950 (£482) per tonne, three times its price at the start of 2007.
"There's been a popular misconception that the world can produce as much food as it likes. Well, it obviously can't. And Asia can't feed itself at the moment," Gerry Lawson, the chairman of Sunrice, a major Australian rice producer, Link
RICE PRICE SOARS .....
A reduced crop is also expected in the United States, mainly as a result of a cut in area caused by mounting competition from more profitable crops.
Short-term volatility
"The international rice market is currently facing a particularly difficult situation with demand outstripping supply and substantial price increases," said FAO Senior Economist Concepcion Calpe. "Higher rice production in 2008 could reduce the pressure, but short-term volatility will probably continue, given the very limited supplies available from stocks. This implies that the market may react very strongly to any good or bad news about crops or policies," FAO
Food Riots will continue as Bio-Fuel, weather and demand raise prices.
NEW DELHI -- Food riots which have struck several impoverished countries could spread with shortages and high prices set to continue for some time, the head of the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said.A combination of high oil and fuel prices, rising demand for food in a wealthier Asia, the use of farmland and crops for biofuels, bad weather and speculation on futures markets have pushed up food prices, prompting violent protests in a handful of poor states
It's grim news for everybody. The global economy is just about coping with the subprime crisis, the fall of the dollar and oil at $100 a barrel. But the inflationary surge in food prices could prove to be the final straw.
Wheat prices hit $24 a bushel this week in the futures markets, having been $3 a bushel four years go. That dwarfs the rise in oil prices.
This problem has been coming for some time, driven by three separate factors. The first is overall population increase. The second is that emergent economies like China and India are climbing up the prosperity chain and demanding more meat protein, which takes eight times as much land to produce as vegetable protein. The third is that short-sighted government subsidies for biofuels are eroding the amount of crops available for eating. Link
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"The prices of basic staples -- wheat, corn, rice -- are at record highs, up 50 percent or more in the past six months. Global food stocks are at historic lows. The causes range from rising demand in major economies such as India and China to climate- and weather- related events such as hurricanes, floods and droughts that have devastated harvests in many parts of the world. High oil prices have increased the cost of transporting food and purchasing fertilizer. Some experts say the rise of biofuels has reduced the amount of food available for humans." Link
"Rice is an extremely sensitive political commodity. There is no question a big surge in the staple's price is bound to spur social unrest and political instability," Link
"Demand for alternative energy sources has led farmers to sow less wheat and convert land to crops such as corn, sugarcane and rapeseed, that can be turned into biofuels.
Ethanol, diesel and other liquid fuels can be made from processing plant material. But this means there is less land for growing food crops." Wheat Prices Soar .....
Biofuel may be a cause for world hunger!
Forget Oil .... Famine is a Possibility
"Wheat prices alone have risen 92% in the past year, and yesterday closed at US$9.45 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade.
At the centre of the imminent food catastrophe is corn - the main staple of the ethanol industry. The price of corn has risen about 44% over the past 15 months, closing at US$4.66 a bushel on the CBOT" .... Link
American Farmers can plant fence to fence and reap big bucks for the American economy .... when you eat .. thank a farmer.
(Quotes from the Chicago Board of Trade)
UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
"The agency's food price index rose by more than 40 percent this year, compared with 9 percent the year before - a rate that was already unacceptable, he said. New figures show that the total cost of foodstuffs imported by the neediest countries rose 25 percent, to $107 million, in the last year.
At the same time, reserves of cereals are severely depleted, FAO records show. World wheat stores declined 11 percent this year, to the lowest level since 1980. That corresponds to 12 weeks of the world's total consumption - much less than the average of 18 weeks consumption in storage during the period 2000-2005. There are only 8 weeks of corn left, down from 11 weeks in the earlier period." Link
HAMBURG: A huge increase in demand for oilseeds and vegetable oils for biofuel production could lead to a global food crisis as raw materials are switched to bioenergy output, Hamburg-based oilseeds analysts Oil World said.
“It is high time to realise that the world community is approaching a food crisis in 2008 unless usage of agricultural products for biofuels is curbed or ideal weather conditions and sharply higher crop yields are achieved in 2008,” it said. Link
Kent M. Herrick, Editor in Chief, 2008
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