High Food Prices continue to threaten the World’s Poor by UN News & agencies 10:49pm 14th Apr, 2011   April 2011    Driven by higher fuel costs connected to events in the Middle East and North Africa, global food prices are 36 percent above their levels a year ago and remain highly volatile, pushing people deeper into poverty, according to new World Bank Group numbers released today.    “More poor people are suffering and more people will become poor because of high and volatile food prices,” said World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick. “We have to put food first and protect the poor and vulnerable, who spend most of their money on food.”    According to the latest edition of the World Bank’s Food Price Watch, a further 10 percent increase in global prices could drive an additional 10 million people below the $1.25 extreme poverty line. A 30 percent price hike could lead to 34 million more poor. This is in addition to the 44 million people who have been driven into poverty since last June as a result of the spikes.    The World Bank estimates there are at least 1.2 billion people living below the poverty line of US$1.25 a day.    The World Bank’s food price index, which measures global prices, is 36 percent above its level a year earlier and remains close to its 2008 peak.    Key increases compared to a year ago include maize (74 percent), wheat (69 percent), soybeans (36 percent) and sugar (21 percent), although rice prices have been stable. In many countries, vegetables, meats, fruits and cooking oil continued to rise with adverse nutritional consequences for the poor.    Food prices have soared due to severe weather events in key grain exporting countries, export restrictions, the increasing use for biofuel production, and low global stocks. The food price hike is also linked to surging fuel prices - crude oil increased 21 percent in the first quarter of 2011as a result of unrest in the Middle East and North Africa.    According to Food Price Watch, poorer countries have experienced greater food inflation than higher income economies.    In the Kyrgyz Republic, for instance, where the poorest 10 percent of the population spends 73 percent of their budget on food, food price inflation in 2010 was 27 percent. As a result, the number of people living below the poverty line will likely increase by 11 percentage points. Visit the related web page
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