G20 to tackle food prices « Follow The Money: "The world’s biggest economies are working to find ways to bring down soaring food prices, a G20 official said on Friday, as top exporter Thailand vowed to keep rice supply steady and avert a repeat of the 2008 food crisis.
Global food prices hit a record high last month, outstripping the levels that sparked riots in several countries in 2008, and key grains could rise further, the United Nations’ food agency said this week.
Policymakers are concerned that, if unchecked, rising food prices could stoke inflation, protectionism and unrest.
High food prices and unemployment were blamed for a second day of rioting in Algeria Friday with police deployed around mosques and authorities suspending football matches.
Rhee Chang-yong, who represents South Korea at the G20, said working-group talks were under way aimed at improving global cooperation to resolve food security problems.
“France is emphasizing food security. As a former host country of G20, we would like to deal with the price volatility problem thoroughly,” Rhee said.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has asked the World Bank to conduct urgent research on the impact of food prices, a source familiar with the matter said.
French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said this week that one of France’s priorities at the G20, where it holds the rotating presidency, was to find a collective response to “excessive volatility” in prices of food and energy.
One concern is that high food prices could hit consumer spending in fast-growing emerging countries that are leading the revival of the global economy.
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