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The years 2007–2008 saw dramatic world food price rises, bringing a state of global crisis and causing political and economical instability and social unrest in both poor and developed nations.

Systemic causes for the world-wide food price increase continue to be the subject of debate. Initial causes of the late 2006 price spikes included unseasonable droughts in grain producing nations and rising oil prices. Oil prices further heightened the costs of fertilizers, food transport, and industrial agriculture. Other causes may be the increasing use of biofuels in developed countries (see also Food vs fuel), and an increasing demand for a more varied diet (especially meat) across the expanding middle-class populations of Asia. These factors, coupled with falling world food stockpiles have all contributed to the dramatic world-wide rise in food prices. Longterm causes remain a topic of debate. These may include structural changes in trade and agricultural production, agricultural price supports and subsidies in developed nations, diversions of food commodities to high input foods and fuel, commodity market speculation, and climate change.

Drastic price increases

Since the start of 2006, the average world price for rice has risen by 217 percent, wheat by 136 percent, maize by 125 percent and soybeans by 107 percent. In late April 2008, rice prices hit 24 cents a pound, twice the price that it was seven months earlier. ..

Factors

Several factors contributed to the rising food price. Analysts attributed the price rises to a perfect storm of poor harvests in various parts of the world, increasing biofuel usage, lower food reserves, the US Federal Reserve decreasing interest rates so that money is no longer a means to preserve wealth over the long term (people invest in food commodities which causes an increase in demand and therefore price), growing consumer demand in Asia, oil price rises, and changes to the world economy.

Impact of food for fuel

One systemic cause for the price rise is held to be the diversion of food crops (maize in particular) for making first-generation biofuels. An estimated 100 million tonnes of grain per year are being redirected from food to fuel. (Total worldwide grain production for 2007 was just over 2000 million tonnes.) As farmers devoted larger parts of their crops to fuel production than in previous years, land and resources available for food production were reduced correspondingly. This has resulted in less food available for human consumption, especially in developing and least developed countries, where a family's daily allowances for food purchases are extremely limited. The crisis can be seen, in a sense, to dichotomize rich and poor nations, since, for example, filling a tank of an average car with biofuel, amounts to as much maize (Africa's principal food staple) as an African person consumes in an entire year.

Since late 2007, "Agflation," caused by the increased diversion of maize harvests in biofuels, the tying of maize to rising oil prices by commodity traders, and a resulting price rise, has caused market substitution, with price rises cascading through other commodities: first wheat and soy prices, then later rice, soy oil, and a variety of cooking oils.

Brazil, the world's second largest producer of ethanol after the U.S., is considered to have the world's first sustainable biofuels economy and its government claims Brazil's sugar cane based ethanol industry has not contributed to the 2008 food crises. (See Ethanol fuel in Brazil)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the rise in food prices is due to poor agricultural policies and changing eating habits in developing nations, not biofuels as some critics claim. On April 29, 2008, U.S. President George W. Bush declared during a press conference that "85 percent of the world's food prices are caused by weather, increased demand and energy prices", and recognized that "15 percent has been caused by by ethanol".

Second- and third-generation biofuels (such as cellulosic ethanol and algae fuel, respectively) may someday ease the competition with food crops, as non food energy crops can grow on marginal lands unsuited for food crops, but these advanced biofuels require further development of farming practices and refining technology; in contrast, ethanol from maize uses mature technology and the maize crop can be shifted between food and fuel use quickly.

World population growth

Although some commentators have argued that this food crisis stems from unprecedented global population growth, others, however, point that world population growth rates have dropped dramatically since the 1980s, and grain availability has continued to outpace population. Aggregate food production per capita has risen since the 1960s, and this trend has not changed dramatically with the 2006-2007 harvests. World population has grown from 1.6 billion in 1900 to an estimated 6.6 billion today. In Mexico, for example, population has grown from 13.6 million in 1900 to 107 million in 2007. Bureau figures show that the U.S. population grew by 2.8 million between July 1, 2004, and July 1, 2005.

The actual annual growth in the number of humans fell from its peak of 87 million per annum in the late 1980s, to a low of 75 million per annum in 2002, at which it stabilised and has started to slowly rise again to 77 million per annum in 2007. The world's population, on its current growth trajectory, is expected to reach nearly 9 billion by the year 2042.

Increased demand across Asia

Middle-class populations have grown through Asia over the last 20 years. Although the vast, overwhelming majority of the population in Asia remains rural and poor, the growth of the middle class in the region has been dramatic, and is projected to continue to be so. For comparison, in 1990, the middle class grew by 9.7 in India and 8.6 in China, as a percentage of their populations; whereas in 2008 it has reached a growth rate of nearly 30 percent and 70 percent, respectively. The corresponding increase in affluence has also brought with it a change in lifestyle and eating habits, particularly a demand for greater variety and more meat in the diet, ( hamburgers replacing rice bowls) leading to greater demand for agricultural resources. This demand has also been responsible for dramatic increases in commodity prices, as well as the oil price increases since 2003.

Joachim von Braun, head of the International Food Policy Research Institute, has stated that the gradual change in diet among newly prosperous populations is the most important factor underpinning the rise in global food prices. However, the World Bank lists changing diet as secondary to the effect of biofuels.

April 2008 analyses from the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization maintained that while food consumption of grains has gone up one percent since 2006, most of this increase has gone to developed countries. Where food utilization has increased, it has largely been in value added (processed) foods, sold in developing and developed nations. Total grain utilization growth since 2006 (up three precent, over the 2000-2006 per annum average of two percent) has been greatest in non-food usage, especially in feed and biofuels. One kilogram of beef requires seven kilograms of feed grain. These reports, therefore, conclude that usage in industrial, feed, and input intensive foods, not population growth among poor consumers of simple grains, has contributed to the price increases.

Impact of petroleum price increases

The rise in the price of oil has heightened the costs of fertilizers (in some instances doubling the price within the six months before April, 2008), the majority of which require petroleum or natural gas to manufacture. Although the main fossil fuel input for fertilizer comes from natural gas to generate hydrogen for the Haber-Bosch process (see: Ammonia production), natural gas has its own supply problems similar to those for oil. Because natural gas can substitute for petroleum in some uses (for example, natural gas liquids and electricity generation), increasing prices for petroleum lead to increasing prices for natural gas, and thus for fertilizer.

Costs for fertilizer raw materials other than oil, such as potash, have themselves been increasing as increased production of staples increases demand. This is causing a boom (with associated volatility) in agriculture stocks.

Oil also provides most energy for mechanized food production and transport. Higher prices for liquid fuels from petroleum increase the demand for biofuels, which may result in diverting some crops from food to energy. Even though per-capita petroleum consumption among the world's poorest people is very low, what petroleum the poor do consume is disproportionately in the form of fossil fuel inputs to the food they eat, especially to any food imported from industrial agriculture powerhouses such as the United States. People who were already living at a subsistence level when oil was relatively cheap are extremely vulnerable when oil prices rise, and may simply lack the means to afford enough daily food calories to survive.

Declining world food stockpiles

In the past, nations tended to keep more sizable food stockpiles, but more recently, due to the pace at which food could be grown and the ease with which it could be imported, less emphasis was placed on keeping stockpiles stocked. Therefore, for example, in February 2008 wheat stockpiles hit a 60-year low in the United States (see also Rice shortage).

Financial speculation

Destabilizing influences, including indiscriminate lending and real estate speculation, led to a crisis in January 2008, and eroded investment in food commodities. The United States, specifically, has been facing an economic crisis which is likely to lead to recession.

Financial speculation in commodity futures following the collapse of the financial derivatives markets has contributed to the crisis due to a "commodities super-cycle." Financial speculators seeking quick returns have removed thousands of milliards of dollars from equities and mortgage bonds and invested into food and raw materials. That American commodities speculation could have a worldwide impact on food prices is reflected in the globalization of food production. It represents the concentration of wealth throughout the world which Frances Moore Lappé equates to a weakening in fundamental democracy. In a recent article for The Nation, she suggests that there is no food shortage but that "as long as food is merely a commodity in societies that don't protect people's right to participate in the market, and as long as farming is left vulnerable to consolidated power off the farm, many will go hungry, farmers among them--no matter how big the harvests."

Impact of trade liberalization

Some theorists, such as Martin Khor of the Third World Network, point out that many developing nations have gone from being food independent to being net food importing economies since the 1970s and 1980s International Monetary Fund (and later the World Trade Organisation's Agreement on Agriculture) free market economics directives to debtor nations. In opening developing countries to developed world food imports which continue to be subsidised by Western governments, developing nations have become dependent upon food imports which are cheaper than those which can be produced by local smallholders agriculture, even in the poorest regions of the world.

While developed countries pressured the developing world to abolish subsidies in the interest of trade liberalization, rich countries largely kept subsidies in place for their own farmers. In recent years United States government subsidies have been added which pushed production toward biofuel rather than food.

Biofuel subsidies in the US

The FAO/ECMB has reported that world land usage for agriculture has declined since the 1980s, and subsidies outside the United States and EU have dropped since the year 2004, leaving supply, while sufficient to meet 2004 needs, vulnerable when the United States began converting agricultural commodities to biofuels. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, global wheat imports and stocks have decreased, domestic consumption has stagnated, and world wheat production has decreased from 2006 to 2008.

In the United States, government subsidies for ethanol production have prompted many farmers to switch to production for biofuel. Maize is the primary crop used for the production of ethanol, with the United States being the biggest producer of maize ethanol. As a result, 23 percent of United States maize crops were being used for ethanol in 2006-2007 (up from 6 percent in 2005-2006), and the USDA expects the United States to use 81 million tonnes of maize for ethanol production in the 2007-2008 season, up 37 percent. This not only diverts grains from food, but it diverts agricultural land from food production.

Idled farmland

According to the New York Times on April 9, 2008, the United States government pays farmers to idle their cropland under a conservation program. This policy reached a peak of 36.8 million acres idled in 2007, that is 8% of cropland in United States, representing a total area bigger than the state of New York.

Distorted global rice market

According to the Times Online on May 17, 2008, Japan is obliged to buy US rice which they do not need due to WTO rules. This is despite the fact that Japan produces over 100% of domestic rice consumption needs with 11 million tonnes produced in 2005 while 8.7 million tonnes were consumed in 2003-2004 period. Japan is not allowed to re-export this rice to other countries without US approval. This rice was generally rot and used for animal feed. Under pressure, US and Japan is poised to strike a deal to remove such restriction. It is expected 1.5 million tonnes of high-grade American rice will enter the market soon.

Crop shortfalls from natural disasters

Several distinct weather- and climate-related incidents have caused disruptions in crop production. Perhaps the most influential is the extended drought in Australia, in particular the fertile Murray-Darling Basin, which produces large amounts of wheat and rice. The drought has caused the annual rice harvest to fall by as much as 98% from pre-drought levels. Australia is historically the second-largest exporter of wheat after the United States, producing up to 25 million tons in a good year, the vast majority for export. However, the 2006 harvest was 9.8 million. Other events that have negatively affected the price of food include the 2006 heat wave in California's San Joaquin Valley, which killed large numbers of farm animals, and unseasonable 2008 rains in Kerala, India, which destroyed swathes of grain. Scientists have stated that several of these incidents are consistent with the predicted effects of climate change.

The effects of Cyclone Nargis on Burma in May 2008 caused an spike in the price of rice. Burma has historically been a rice exporter, though yields have fallen as government price controls have reduced incentives for farmers. The storm surge inundated rice paddies up to 30 miles inland in the Irrawaddy Delta, raising concern that the salt could make the fields infertile. The FAO had previously estimated that Burma would export up to 600,000 tons of rice in 2008, but concerns were raised in the cyclone's aftermath that Burma may be forced to import rice for the first time, putting further upward pressure on global rice prices.

Soil and productivity losses

Sundquist points out that large areas of croplands are lost year after year, due mainly to soil erosion, water depletion and urbanisation. According to him "60,000 km2/ year of land becomes so severely degraded that it loses its productive capacity and becomes wasteland", and even more are affected to a lesser extend, adding to the crop supply problem.

Additionally, agricultural production is also lost due to water depletion. Northern China in particular has depleted much of its non-renewables aquifers, which now impacts negatively its crop production .

Urbanisation is another, smaller, difficult to estimate cause of annual cropland reduction .

Effects on developing countries

From the beginning of 2007 to early 2008, the prices of some of the most basic international food commodities increased dramatically on international markets. The international market price of wheat doubled from February 2007 to February 2008 hitting a record high of over USD$10 a bushel. Rice prices also reached ten year highs. In some nations, milk and meat prices more than doubled, while soy (which hit a 34 year high price in December 2007) and maize prices have increased dramatically.

Total food import bills rose by an estimated 25% for developing countries in 2007. Researchers from the Overseas Development Institute have suggested this problem will be worsened by a likely fall in food aid. As food aid is programmed by budget rather than volume, rising food prices mean that the World Food Programme (WFP) needs an extra $500 million just to sustain the current operations.

To ensure that food remains available for their domestic populations and to combat dramatic price inflation, major rice exporters, such as China, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Egypt, have imposed strict export bans on rice. Conversely, several other nations, including Argentina, Ukraine, Russia, and Serbia have, as well, either imposed high tariffs or blocked the export of wheat and other foodstuffs altogether, driving up prices still further for net food importing nations while trying to isolate their internal markets.

Effects on developed countries

The global food price crisis has appeared in the U.S.A. as the rice shortage.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2008)

Impacts on farmers

If global price movements are transmitted to local markets, farmers in the developing world could benefit from the rising price of food. According to researchers from the Overseas Development Institute, this may depend on farmers’ capacity to respond to changing market conditions. Experience suggests that farmers lack the credit and inputs needed to respond in the short term. In the medium or long term, however, they could benefit, as seen in the Asian green revolution or in many African countries in the recent past.

Unrest and government actions in individual countries and regions

With the price rises having affected parts of Asia and Africa particularly severely, with Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Senegal, Mauritania, Cote d'Ivoire, Egypt and Morocco began seeing protests and riots in late 2007 and early 2008 over the unavailability of basic food staples. Other countries which have seen food riots or are facing related unrest are: Mexico, Bolivia, Yemen, Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and South Africa.

Bangladesh

10,000 workers rioted close to the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, smashing cars and buses and vandalising factories in anger at high food prices and low wages. Dozens of people, including at least 20 police officials, were injured in the violence. Ironically, the country achieved food self-sufficiency in 2002, but food prices increased drastically due to the reliance of agriculture on oil and fossil fuels. Economists estimate 30 million of the country's 150 million people could go hungry.

Brazil

In April 2008, the Brazilian government announced a temporary ban on the export of rice. The ban is intended to protect domestic consumers.

Burkina Faso

One of the earlier food riots took place in Burkina Faso, on February 22, when rioting broke in the country's second and third largest cities over soaring food prices (up to 65 percent increase), sparing however the capital, Ouagadougou, where soldiers were mobilized throughout strategic points. The government promised to lower taxes on food and to release food stocks. Over 100 people were arrested in one of the towns.

Cameroon

Cameroon, the world's fourth largest cocoa producer, saw large scale rioting in late February 2008, in protest against inflating food and fuel prices, as well as the attempt by President Paul Biya to extend his 25-year rule. At least seven people were killed in the worst unrest seen in the country in over fifteen years. Part of the government response to the protests was a reduction in import taxes on foods including rice, flour, and fish. The government reached an agreement with retailers by which prices would be lowered in exchange for the reduced import taxes. As of late April 2008, however, reports suggested that prices had not eased and in some cases had even increased.

On 24 April 2008, the government of Cameroon announced a two-year emergency program designed to double Cameroon's food production and achieve food self-sufficiency.

Côte d'Ivoire

On March 31, Côte d'Ivoire's capital Abidjan saw police use tear gas and a dozen protesters injured following food riots that gripped the city. The riots followed dramatic hikes in the price of food and fuel, with the price of beef rising from $1.68 to $2.16 per kilogram, and the price of gasoline rising from $1.44 to $2.04 per liter, in only three days.

Egypt

In Egypt, a boy was killed from gunshot to the head after Egyptian police intervened in violent demonstrations over rising food prices that gripped the industrial city of Mahalla on April 8. Food prices, and particularly the price of bread, have doubled over the last several months.

Ethiopia

Drought and the food price crisis are threatening thousands in Ethiopia.

Haiti

On 12 April 2008, the Haitian Senate voted to dismiss Prime Minister Jacques-Édouard Alexis after violent food riots hit the country. Prices for food items such as rice, beans, fruit and condensed milk have gone up 50 percent in Haiti since late 2007 while the price of fuel has tripled in only two months. Riots broke out in April due to the high prices, and the government is attempting to restore order by subsidizing a 15 percent reduction in the price of rice.

India

Food riots were reported in the Indian state of West Bengal in 2007 over shortage of food. India has banned the export of rice except for Basmati types of rice which attract a premium price.

Indonesia

Street protests over the price of food took place in Indonesia where food staples and gasoline have nearly doubled in price since January 2008.

Latin America

In April 2008, the Latin American members of the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) met in Brasília in order to confront the issues of high food prices, scarcities and violence that are affecting the region.

Mozambique

In mid February, rioting that started in the Mozambican rural town of Chokwe and then spread to the capital, Maputo, has resulted in at least four deaths. The riots were reported in the media to have been, at least in part, over food prices and were termed "food riots." A biofuel advocacy publication, however, claimed that these were, in fact, fuel riots, limited to the rise in the cost of diesel, and argued that the "food riot" characterization worked to fan "anti-biofuels sentiment."

Pakistan

The Pakistan Army has been deployed to avoid the seizure of food from fields and warehouses.

Myanmar

Once the world's top rice producer, Myanmar has produced enough rice to feed itself until now. Rice exports dropped over four decades from nearly 4 million tons to only about 40,000 tons last year, mostly due to neglect by Myanmar's ruling generals of infrastructure, including irrigation and wharehousing. On 3 May 2008 Cyclone Nargis stripped Myanmar's rice-growing districts, ruining large areas with salt water. U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that these areas produce 65 percent of the Southeast Asian country's rice. Worries of long-term food shortages and rationing are rife. The military regime says nothing about the rice crisis, but continues to export rice at the same rate. "...at least the next two harvests are going to be greatly affected and there’ll be virtually no output from those areas during that time. So we’re likely to see considerable food and rice shortages for the next couple of years. The damage to the economy is going to be profound." said economist and Myanmar expert Sean Turnell, of Australia's Macquarie University. (interviewed in "The Irriwaddy", Tuesday, May 27, 2008)

Philippines

In the Philippines, the Arroyo government insisted on April 13 that there would be no food riots in the country and that there could be no comparison with Haiti's situation. Chief Presidential Legal Counsel, Sergio Apostol stated that: "Haiti is not trying to solve the problem, while we are doing something to address the issue. We don't have a food shortage. So, no comparison..." Comments by the Justice Secretary, Raul Gonzalez, the following day, that food riots are not far fetched, were quickly rebuked by the rest of the government.

On April 15, the Philippines, the world's largest rice importer, urged China, Japan, and other key Asian nations, to convene an emergency meeting, especially taking issue with those countries' rice export bans. "Free trade should be flowing," Philippine Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap stated. In late April 2008, the Philippines government requested that the World Bank exert pressure on rice exporting countries to end export restrictions.

Russia

The Russian government pressured retailers to freeze food prices before key elections for fear of a public backlash against the rising cost of food in October 2007. The freeze ended on May 1, 2008.

Senegal

On 31 March 2008, Senegal saw riots in response to the rise in the price of food and fuel. Twenty four people were arrested and detained in a response which one local human rights group claimed included "torture" and other "unspeakable acts" on the part of the security forces. Further protests took place in Dakar on 26 April 2008.

Somalia

Witnesses and officials in Somalia said thousands of angry Somalis rioted on May 5, 2008 over rising food prices and the collapse of the nation's currency, culminating in clashes with government troops and armed shopkeepers that killed at least five protesters. The protests occurred amid a serious humanitarian emergency due to the Ethiopian war in Somalia.

North America

Rice shortage gained attention in the news media in April 2008 when Sam's Club instituted a limit on how much long-grain white rice that restaurant and retail customers could purchase due to shortages. Purchases of other types of rice were not restricted. This came after Mexico announced that its oil production declined by 7.8% in the first quarter, an unprecedented decline.

Yemen

Food riots in southern Yemen that began in late March and continued through early April, saw police stations torched, and roadblocks were set up by armed protesters. The army has deployed tanks and other military vehicles. Although the riots involved thousands of demonstrators over several days and over 100 arrests, officials claimed no fatalities; residents, however, claimed that at least one of the fourteen wounded people has died.

Projections

The UN (FAO) released a study in December 2007 projecting a 49 percent increase in African cereal prices, and 53 percent in European prices, through July of 2008. In April 2008, the World Bank, in combination with the IMF, announced a series of measures aimed at mitigating the crisis, including increased loans to African farmers and emergency monetary aid to badly affected areas such as Haiti. According to FAO director Jacques Diouf, however, the World Food Programme needs an immediate cash injection of at least $1700 million, far more than the tens of million-worth in measures already pledged. On 29 April 2008, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced the formation of a UN/World Bank task force to co-ordinate efforts to alleviate the crisis.

Actions by governments

IFAD is making up to US$200 million available to support poor farmers boost food production in face of the global food crisis.

On 2 May 2008 U.S. President George W. Bush announced an extra $770 million funding for international food aid.

The release of Japan's rice reserves onto the market may bring the rice price down significantly. As of 16 May, anticipation of the move had already lowered prices by 14% in a single week.

On 30 April 2008 Thailand announced the creation of the Organization of Rice Exporting Countries (OREC) with the potential to develop a price-fixing cartel for rice. This is seen by some as an action to capitalise on the crisis.

See also

References

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77. "Haiti PM ousted over soaring food prices", AFP, April 13, 2008
78. "The world food crisis", Jamaica Gleaner, April 13, 2008
79. "Price of rice prompts renewed anger in Haiti", Reuters, April l5, 2008
80. guardian.co.uk, 26 February 2008
81. "Indonesia takes action over soyabeans", Iran Daily, January 16, 2008
82. "Indonesia: Food beyond the reach of the poor", Globe & Mail, April 12, 2008
83. Latinoamérica hace frente a altos precios de alimentos (Latin America faces high food prices) La Prensa, Honduras, April 14th, 2008
84. "Mozambique diesel riots reported in Western media as “food riots”, fanning anti-biofuels sentiment", Biofuel Digest, February 19, 2008
85. zawya.com (need to be login first)
86. "Palace assures no food riots in RP", Sun Star Network Exchange (Sunnex), April 13, 2008
87. "Official: Philippines not comparable with Haiti in food crisis", Xinhua, April 13, 2008
88. "Food riots to hit Manila soon?", United Press International, April 14, 2008
89. "Manila calls for Asian summit over food crisis", The Standard, April 15, 2008
90. Al Jazeera 2008, 'Manila urges end to rice export ban', Al Jazeera English, 29 April. Retrieved on 29 April 2008.
91. timesonline.co.uk
92. St. Petersburg Times
93. "Senegal: Heavy handed response to food protesters", IRIN, March 31, 2008
94. Al Jazeera 2008, 'Food costs spark protests in Senegal', Al Jazeera English, 27 April. Retrieved on 27 April 2008.
95. Latest News - SomaliNet
96. "Rationing of rice in US food shock". Irish Independent. 2008-04-24. p. 32. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
97. "Food crisis: rationing introduced in bid to protect rice supplies". The Times. 2008-04-24. Retrieved 2008-04-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
98. "Food riots rock Yemen", The Intelligence Daily, April 4, 2008.
99. Cereal prices hit poor countries, BBC, February 14, 2008.
    UN warns on soaring food prices, 17 December, 2007.
100. World Bank tackles food emergency, BBC, April 14th, 2008.
101. UN Sets up food crisis task force, BBC, April 29th, 2008.
102. US$200 million from IFAD to help poor farmers boost food production in face of food crisis
103. BBC NEWS | Americas | Bush offers $770m for food crisis
104. Rice price dives as US and Japan set to unlock grain pact - Times Online
105. Australia|April 30, 2008|Mekong nations to form rice price-fixing cartel
106. Post|May 1, 2008|PM floats idea of five-nation rice cartel

External links

• Q&A: Rising world food prices and Special Reports Page: Food price crisis — BBC News Online
• World Food Situation Portal and Crop Prospects and Food Situation – No. 2, April 2008 (Statistical appendix) — FAO
• Special Coverage: Agflation — Reuters
• Food Prices Portal - International Food Policy Research Institute
• Financial Times 2007, 'Why are food prices rising?', FT.com, 20 November. Retrieved on 28 April 2008. (Multimedia presentation regarding causes of rising food prices.)

• 2007
• 2008
• 2000s economic history
• Economic problems
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• Economy of Africa
• Economy of Asia
• Food riots
• Food politics
• Peak oil