Even the lifting of the blockade of Ukrainian ports will not miraculously solve a crisis that is global in scope. Instead, a structural overhaul of a system that is bloated, inefficient and hypocritical is long overdue.
Category: Food price volatility
Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Should Not Cause a Hunger Crisis
The trade fallout of the Russia-Ukraine conflict would be devastating for the world’s poor for whom inflation has put even the most basic foods beyond reach.
The Hunger Crisis Nobody Is Talking About
Inflation has put even the most basic foods beyond the reach of many households. Many families spend more than half of their income on food. The higher prices are forcing them to choose between food and rent and medicine.
COVID-19 and Food Supply: A Four-Pronged Battle Plan for Countries
As countries wage full-on war on the coronavirus, they should also have a battle plan to lessen the shocks to their food supply chains. Here’s how.
Tool: Measuring Price Variability of Staple Food Commodities
The three-part model provides a visual representation of historical periods of excessive global price volatility from 2000 to present, as well as a daily volatility status. It can alert policymakers when world markets are experiencing a period of excessive food price volatility.
Grappling with Grain Prices
We propose three global collective actions to meet these goals: the creation of a small emergency physical food reserve; an international co-ordinated global food reserve; and a virtual reserve. These actions bring together developed and developing countries for a sustainable policy response to a global crisis.
Policy Brief: Physical and Virtual Global Food Reserves to Protect the Poor and Prevent Market Failure
The current food crisis has several causes—rising demand for food and feed, biofuels, high oil prices, climate change, stagnant agricultural productivity growth—but there is increasing evidence that the crisis is being made worse by the malfunctioning of world grain markets. Given the thinness of major markets for cereals, the restrictions on grain exports imposed by … Continue reading Policy Brief: Physical and Virtual Global Food Reserves to Protect the Poor and Prevent Market Failure
Policy Brief: High Food Prices and the What, Who and How of Proposed Policy Actions
The complex causes of the current food and agriculture crisis require a comprehensive response. In view of the urgency of assisting people and countries in need, policy actions—an emergency package—consist of steps that can yield immediate impact.
Maximo Torero 