Food Security: Global food prices increase by 40.4%

An analysis by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) revealed that the price of global food has increased by 40.4 per cent between July 2010 and February 2011, reports TheDailyStar.

Also, ADB noted that demand and supply sides as major factors affecting the rate at which the price increases, other factors, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

FAO said these include increase in world population and strong income growth in developing economies.

The use of food grains like corn and rapeseed oil in the production of bio-fuel, the study said contributed a great deal to the food price inflation.

Further, the study stated that with agricultural land being converted to commercial use, a rise in the cost of input, neglect suffered agricultural investment, low crop yield all reduces the farm produce which in really affects the price as more people will be after few supplies.

A study by The Oxford Economics Global Models reveals that the food price hike will lead to higher inflation, reducing economic growth rate of developing Asia but this will lead to an increase in GDP of food exporting countries like Thailand, China and Korea.

Increasing food production worldwide has become the first priority now for meeting the challenge of growing demand of food this year, with FAO giving an estimation of two per cent increase in the production of cereal. Read more

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