Cross-posted from IFPRI.org
By: Marcia MacNeil
The great hope that rose from the Arab awakening is being continually tested—not only by ongoing political unrest, but also by lesser known forces: volatile food prices and supplies, and grinding poverty. Translating hope to better lives rests on effective policy—and effective policy rests on access to adequate and accurate information, also in scarce supply in the region. For instance, only around half of the region’s countries make poverty figures publicly available, and the frequency and accuracy of those figures varies widely.
The latest GIEWS Global Food Price Monitor, released on Monday, cites slight declines in export prices for international wheat and maize in January. The benchmark US wheat price dropped 3 percent from December, largely on lower US exports and large supplies of wheat feed on the international market. Wheat's decline was somewhat limited, however, by continued drought conditions in the US and a weakening dollar. According to the report, domestic wheat prices in both importing and exporting countries remains high.
Cross-posted from University of Bonn's Center for Development Research
Summary of the international expert consultation organized by the Center for Development Research (ZEF) and International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) held at ZEF in Bonn, Germany on January 31 and February 1, 2013.
By Joachim von Braun (ZEF) and Maximo Torero (IFPRI)
After a volatile few months following the US drought, global food prices stabilized in January, according to the FAO's latest edition of the Food Price Index. The Index averaged 210 points in January, unchanged from a revised December average.
The newest edition of the FEWS Net Monthly Price Watch was released last week, citing continuing high international maize and wheat prices. While maize prices saw drastic spikes in June and July 2012 due to drought conditions in the US, they leveled off, although at high levels, later in the year as more information regarding US crop conditions and global supplies became available. Wheat prices, on the other hand, rose steadily between May and November before leveling out in December.
