Philippines Should Raise Farmers' Productivity abs-cbnnews The Arroyo administration needs to invest in farmers’ productivity and raise their level of profitability to be competitive, a leading agricultural economist said.
No Drop in Flour Prices Trinidad and Tobago Express Do not expect a reduction in flour prices anytime soon. This was the message to consumers from Trade and Industry Minister Dr Keith Rowley on Thursday as he noted that the global stock piles of wheat, which is imported to make flour, are at their lowest levels ever.
Of Budget, Loans and Soaring Prices Rediff News The Central government hiked the minimum export price of non-Basmati rice from $650 to $ 1,000. Readers must be wondering why all of a sudden a $350 hike in minimum export price. The reason is India is facing a major problem in the food front. Whether you call it a supply-demand mismatch or any other jargon, food prices are soaring in India.
March 30, 2008
I've gone to my farm in Kentucky for the weekend. It's a great place to relax, do a little hard physical labor, and forget about the rest of the world. If you don't have such a place, I highly suggest you get one.
In the meantime, here's a little something that I found for you to read with your morning coffee.
See you on Monday.
J. Peterman
The New Global Menace: Food Inflation
By Barrie McKenna
Globe & Mail
Still reeling from the U.S. housing collapse, global markets are confronting a dangerous new bubble: food inflation.
The price of the world's three main grains - rice, wheat and corn - have all more than doubled in the past year, affecting just about everything people eat, and fanning social unrest in some of the most unstable corners of the world.
Canadians might be forgiven for not noticing. The remarkable rise of the loonie has so far largely insulated them from the kind of rampant inflation that is hitting much of the rest of the world. Canadian prices were up 1.8 per cent in February compared with last year, less than half the U.S. inflation rate - a gap economists say is largely due to the strong dollar.
Signs of stress are emerging just about everywhere else. Food riots have erupted in Egypt, Morocco, Senegal and Cameroon. In Thailand, rice farmers are sleeping in their fields to prevent thieves from stealing their crops.
Numerous countries, including Argentina and Vietnam, have capped or taxed exports of key farm products in a bid to quell domestic inflation, running the risk of violating international trade rules. To ease growing shortages, the Philippine government has asked fast-food restaurants to serve less rice with meals to ease shortages.
In Egypt, the price of many basic foods has spiked as much as 50 per cent in a matter of months. In Asia, where rice is part of virtually every meal, prices are rising almost daily.
Share the Eye:
Historic Food Prices foodtimeline When Coca-Cola was launched in 1886, it was offered free to customers in drug store soda fountains. This popular period marketing strategy soon created a demand for the product.
Can World Weather Rising Food Prices? CommodityOnline What is driving the food prices up? You must be wondering is it because of foodgrain shortage? Or is it because Futures trading? Or some other reasons. In fact across the globe, nobody has a clear answer to this question.
Global Food Prices Rise World Socialist Web Site The United Nations body World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that the rise in global food prices will reduce its ability to feed hungry and malnourished people.
still thinking about today...
We live in interesting times. I am reminded of a phrase I read several years ago: "The thin veneer of civilization". There's seems, at times, very little but a "thin veneer" between a cultured life and being a savage barbarian. One of our founding fathers said the cost of freedom was eternal vigilance. Perhaps with the veneer becoming more transparent, we should practice more vigilance.
But perhaps turmoil is the catalyst of civilization. During centuries of European turmoil the Renaissance and Enlightenment were born. During the 20th century we made fantastic technological and scientific advancement despite the numerous and savage wars.
I once read that during 400 years of peace in Switzerland they came up with the cuckoo clock and a nice banking system.
Here's to a little (but not a lot) of turmoil with my morning coffee. And a little more vigilance. Yes, I do own a cuckoo clock (but I stopped it from chirping), and....well, I can't say too much about my Swiss bank account. After all, it's supposed to be a secret.
The corn prices are skyrocketing because of the ethanol bubble. Corn and soybeans that are normally destined for animal feed are now being diverted for eco-fuel usage, with a lot of get-rich-quick mentality around the future of this pseudo-industry. More troubling, the spike in diesel fuel costs is impacting farmers and food distributors alike. Interesting times, indeed.