World food prices jumped 10 percent in July-World Bank

[phantom power]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - World food prices jumped 10 percent in July as drought parched crop lands in the United States and Eastern Europe, the World Bank said in a statement urging governments to shore up programs that protect their most vulnerable populations.

From June to July, corn and wheat prices rose by 25 percent each, soybean prices by 17 percent, and only rice prices went down, by 4 percent, the World Bank said on Thursday.

http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/08/30/worldbank-food-prices-idINL2E8JU7WS20120830

[GliderGuider]

1. We're in for another spring of riots and regime change next year.

And the year after that...
And the year after that...
And the year after that...
And the year after that...
And the year after that...

[phantom power]

2. kind of like an emergency, but longer

[Nihil]

3. World Bank to governments: Go shopping.

Last edited Mon Sep 3, 2012, 08:34 AM - Edit history (1)

World Bank to itself 3 months ago: Invest in food futures.

ETA: After having now read LBN from the weekend, the above isn't even a cynical joke ...

Barclays has made as much as half a billion pounds in two years from speculating on food staples such as wheat and soya, prompting allegations that banks are profiting handsomely from the global food crisis.

Barclays is the UK bank with the greatest involvement in food commodity trading and is one of the three biggest global players, along with the US banking giants Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, research from the World Development Movement points out.

... The extent of Barclays' involvement in food speculation comes to light as new figures from the World Bank show that global food prices hit an all-time high in July, with poor harvests in the US and Russia pushing up the average worldwide cost of staples by an unprecedented 10 per cent in a month.

The extent of just one bank's involvement in agricultural markets will add to concerns that food speculation could help push basic prices so high that they trigger a wave of riots in the world's poorest countries, as staples drift out of their populations' reach.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014215103