High Prices in Agriculture will stay - OECD says
24 Jun 2011
Juan Valverde
According to a recent report of the OECD and United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), higher food prices and volatility in commodity markets are here to stay ( OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2011-2020 ).
According to this report a good harvest in the coming months should push commodity prices down from the extreme levels seen earlier this year. However, the Outlook states that over the coming decade real prices for cereals could average as much as 20% higher and those for meats as much as 30% higher, compared to 2001-10. These projections are well below the peak price levels experienced in 2007-08 and again this year.
Higher prices for commodities are being passed through the food chain, leading to rising consumer price inflation in most countries. This raises concerns for economic stability and food security in some developing countries, with poor consumers most at risk of malnutrition, the report says.
In OECD´s website OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría states that "While higher prices are generally good news for farmers, the impact on the poor in developing countries who spend a high proportion of their income on food can be devastating. That is why we are calling on governments to improve information and transparency of both physical and financial markets, encourage investments that increase productivity in developing countries, remove production and trade distorting policies and assist the vulnerable to better manage risk and uncertainty."
Watch OECD video summary here
Further information on the OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2011-2020 is available at: http://www.agri-outlook.org
