Food prices surge as drought hits US, Eastern Europe
31 Aug 2012
World food prices surged 10 per cent in July as drought hit crop lands in the US and Eastern Europe, the World Bank said in a statement, as it urged governments to shore up programmes that protected their most vulnerable populations.
From June to July, corn and wheat prices were up 25 per cent each, soybean prices by 17 per cent, and only rice prices fell, by 4 per cent, according to the World Bank.
Overall, the World Bank's Food Price Index, which tracks the price of internationally traded food commodities, was 6 per cent higher than in July of last year, and 1 per cent over the previous peak of February 2011.
US soybean futures were at a record high of $17.78 per bushel in trading yesterday, while corn futures remained near the record of $8.49 set earlier this month.
According to World Bank group president Jim Yong Kim, the hike could not be allowed to turn into a lifetime of perils as families took their children out of school and ate less nutritious food to compensate for the high prices. He added, countries needed to strengthen their targeted programmes to ease the pressure on the most vulnerable population, and implement the right policies.
He added Africa and the Middle East were particularly vulnerable, but so were people in other countries where the prices of grains had increased abruptly, he added.
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