What's New

By: Luciana Delgado, IFPRI

A recent brief by authors from the World Bank, IFPRI and the University of Antwerp notes that reducing food loss and waste can improve food and nutrition security. The brief was prepared through the T20 program as part of the preparation for the G20 meetings in Argentina that took place this month.

On July 6, U.S. President Donald Trump imposed a 25% tariff on a range of Chinese goods worth $34 billion. China retaliated immediately with 25% tariff on U.S. goods, including agricultural products. While the goal of the tariff, according to the U.S. President, is to protect jobs and intellectual property, the impacts to U.S. producers has been and may continue to be substantial. Less than a week later, on July 19, U.S. soy prices hit a ten-year low, with the August futures for the price of a bushel at $8.39 and November futures at only $8.55 .

The FAO Crop Prospects and Food Situation Report for the second quarter of 2018 reports that 39 countries are currently in need of food assistance. Thirty-one of those countries are in Africa, seven are in Asia, and one is in Latin America and the Caribbean. Persistent conflict remain the leading driver of these needs. In addition, weather shocks have also limited food access and availability in the affected countries, in some cases severely.

Rising trade tensions drove the FAO Food Price Index down slightly in June. The 1.3-percent decline represents the first month-to-month drop since the beginning of 2018.

The Cereal Price Index fell by 3.7 percent but remains almost 8 percent higher than its June 2017 level. In June, wheat and maize prices fell sharply as a result of trade tensions, despite poor production prospects in many areas. Rice prices, on the other hand, rose based on tight supplies for some varieties.

Over 1,000 participants from more than 100 countries gathered in Berlin on May 28 and 29 for the 2018 Global Solutions Summit . The event, associated with the T20 (an engagement group of global think-tanks supporting the G20 process), brought together policymakers, private sector actors, and global thought leaders to discuss solutions to pressing global challenges like hunger and poverty, climate change, rapid globalization, economic and societal inequality and the erosion of democratic values.