Extreme Weather
Global food prices spiralling again
FAO raises alarm for world’s poorest; inadequate rainfall casts gloom over Aman prospect
Global food prices shot up last month due to extreme weather conditions, says a report of the UN food and agricultural body. The price spike, which came after three months of decline, has raised the spectre of a food crisis like the one in 2007-08 that badly hit the world’s poorest.
Unveiling the report on Thursday, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said its food index rose 6 percent in July although it was well below its peak reached in February 2011.
The severe deterioration of maize crop prospects in the United States following extensive drought damage pushed up maize prices by almost 23 percent in July, said the Rome-based UN agency that measures the monthly change in the international prices of staple foods.
Global wheat quotations also surged 19 percent amid worsened production prospects in the Russian Federation and expectations of firm demand for wheat as feed because of tight maize supplies.
July also saw a sharp increase in sugar price. The upturn, ending a steady fall since March, was triggered by untimely rains in Brazil, the world’s largest sugar exporter, which hampered sugarcane harvesting. Concerns over India’s delayed monsoon and poor rains in Australia also contributed.
A drought-like situation in some states of India, one of the world’s largest food producers and consumers, also threatens acreage of grains, sugarcane, pulses and oil seeds and cotton this season.
One good news is that international rice prices remain mostly unchanged, as are dairy prices. The agency’s meat price index also fell.
The UN body closely monitors the global food prices, as the cost of food is of constant concern for the least developed countries. Hikes in recent years have led to riots in some countries.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh is preparing to face the looming global food crisis.
To make things gloomier, there are indications of a setback in domestic production of Aman paddy this year.
Food Minister Abdur Razzaque said, “We are worried at below-normal rainfall at home this year.”
He added that his ministry has sought weather projections and relevant data from the meteorological office and the Water Development Board (WDB) to assess the situation.
The minister was talking to The Daily Star shortly after
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) issued a statement on Tuesday warning that the most severe and extensive drought in the US since the 1950s was adversely affecting production of maize and soybeans, driving up prices of agricultural products.
Considering the gravity of the situation, the Washington-based food policy think-tank asked for a halt to biofuel production from maize.
According to the Economic Research Service of the US Department of Agriculture, about 40 percent of maize and soybean, and 44 percent of livestock are produced in areas experiencing severe drought.
IFPRI statement read, “Prices of maize and soybeans have already started to rise rapidly and could increase further depending on the degree of severity and extent of the drought. In the past two months alone, US export prices for maize and soybean increased by 30 and 19 percent respectively, with prices of both crops reaching record highs.”
Abdur Razzaque said that in a little over a month, Bangladesh’s import price for wheat rose from $280 per tonne to $335.
“We’ll be seriously affected if US drought situation pushes further, particularly, the prices of soybean oil and poultry feed (prepared from de-oiled soybean meal).”
Bangladesh is the 7th largest importer of soybean oil, and along with Brazil and India, the US is also a source country for its edible oil supplies, Razzaque added.
The food minister seemed all the more worried at the pattern of less-than-normal rainfall that the country has experienced so far in the current monsoon. He thought if this pattern persisted, it would have negative bearings on the rain-fed Aman, now in the fields.
Met office figures show — excepting Chittagong and Rangpur– all other divisions in the country experienced less than average rainfall last month. In terms of percentage, Rajshahi got 33 percent less rainfall than the average, Sylhet 31 percent less, Dhaka 22 percent less, and Barisal and Khulna 21 percent and 6 percent less respectively.
Farmers in the rice-rich northern region of the country are also awaiting a good shower so that they don’t require any supplementary irrigation for the otherwise rain-fed Aman production.
Md Arifuzzaman Bhuiyan, a sub-divisional engineer, stationed at the WDB’s Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre, told this correspondent that the country experienced less than normal rainfall both in June and July.
Explaining the weather charts from the Met office, Arifuzzaman said there is no prospect of a good rainfall in the first half of this month too. He, however, pinned high hope on the prospect of a downpour in the later part of the month.
-With The Daily Star input
