World food prices reached a new historic peak in January 2011, exceeding prices reached during the food crisis of 2007-08. The spike in prices in 2007-08 took the total number of hungry people to over a billion - a sixth of the world’s population. Millions of people’s lives are under threat.
We've put together this Q&A to help make things clearer the relationship between food prices and poverty.
Q. What’s the problem with global food prices?
A. Food prices have recently passed the levels reached during the food crisis of 2007-08. People around the world are starting to feel the impact and some countries like Tunisia, Egypt or Algeria are experiencing riots, caused in part by the increasing costs of food. The sudden food price hikes have pushed millions of people in developing countries further into hunger and poverty. And it’s not just high prices that are a problem. Prices are unpredictable, meaning that consumers can’t rely on a regular price, and producers are unable to plan their investments with certainty.
See full Press Release.
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