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Global Food Prices Continue to Rise in February - FAO Releases Food Price Index
FAO has released the latest global Food Price Index, citing a 1% increase in food prices in February. Despite this increase, the Food Price Index for February remains 10% below its peak in February 2011.
GIEWS Releases Maize Prospects for Argentina and Mexico
GIEWS has released crop prospect reports for maize for both Argentina and Mexico, citing deteriorating 2012 crop prospects due to recent dry weather. Despite this reduction, production in Argentina is still expected to be average. Mexican production is expected to be below the five-year average but still higher than the poor 2011 crop.
Download the report for Argentina .
Download the report for Mexico
WTO Disciplines on Agricultural Support
When the World Trade Organization (WTO) was created in 1995, its members committed themselves to a set of disciplines for domestic support, market access, and export competition for agriculture. The Agreement on Agriculture paved the way for the pursuit of progressive reductions in world agricultural market distortions.
Consequences of Biofuels Mandates for Global Price Stability
While agricultural trade policies are one factor affecting global food prices and price stability, they are not the only factor. Policies not directly related to trade can also have destabilizing effects if enacted by large countries and/or by a large number of small countries. Traditionally, focus has been put on agricultural policies and domestic support for developed countries’ farmers. Another strong example of this is the recent dramatic increase in pro-biofuels policies throughout both the developed and the developing world.
Nutritional Impacts of Rising Food Prices
2006-2008 saw dramatic increases in the price of many staple food items, particularly maize, rice, and wheat. These staple commodities form the bulk of the diet of the world’s poor populations, many of whom spend over one-half of their income on food. The result in many areas of the world was worsening poverty for already poor populations due to a decline in purchasing power. While much attention has been given to the economic impacts of the rise in food prices, little empirical research has been conducted to examine the nutritional impacts of the food crisis.