NEW YORK, June 30: Growing fear about the world facing an acute shortage of food at an affordable price has led to hoarding by farmers, traders and consumers all over the planet. Whether the fear is perceived or real is a matter of debate.
There are more than 30 food surplus nations in the world. They have stopped exporting foodgrain arguing that their first duty was to feed their own people at an affordable price. Fourteen countries including Vietnam, China and India have partially or totally slapped a ban on foodgrain export. Fifteen other countries including Pakistan and Bolivia have stopped exporting wheat. Needless to point out these bans have aggravated the food crisis and accompanied price hike.
It is an irony that the Philippines, home to International Rice Research Institute -- acronym IRRI, a fast growing more yielding crop which has helped many countries to solve their food problem -- should itself face acute food shortage. There is panic buying in food shortage regions. The new restrictions are new symptoms of a chronic condition. Trades in services and manufactured goods have galloped but there has been no commensurate rise in food trade. It is obvious that these export restrictions fuel the fire of price increase, Pascal Lamy, Director General of WTO was quoted as saying.
Farm sector in Australia has been hit by a drought and intermittent strikes by Argentinian farmers have increased reliance on countries like Thailand, Brazil, Canada and the US. These countries are exporting foodgrains as they used to do before.
A World Trade Organisation (WTO) rule makes it mandatory for all foodgrain exporting countries to inform the organisation before restricting export. There is no penalty for countries violating the rule.
World leaders have been working meticulously to free farm trade from the bondage of restrictions.
Each nation has the right to feed its own people first, said Kamal Nath, Commerce Minister of India. India has barred export of vegetable, oil and rice, directly hitting neighbour Bangladesh. One country's act to promote food security is another country's food insecurity, the United States Trade Commissioner Susan Schwab said.
Ban on export of foodgrains is seriously affecting relief operations in countries facing acute food crisis. "We are having trouble buying food we need for emergency operations," said Josette Sheeran, Executive Director of World Food Programme (WFP). Vulnerable feeding in Somalia and Afghanistan have been badly affected.
The on-going controversy over food export underscores the problem that nations have confronted for centuries. Huge subsidies provided to farm sectors in industrialised nations have discouraged investment in agriculture sector in poor countries.
The World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) further compounded the crisis putting pressure on developing countries to lower tariffs and reduce subsidies to farm sector to bring down the budget deficit.
Bangladesh is an example of that. Restriction on export is not the only cause of food crisis and the soaring price. Higher cost of fertiliser, diesel and other farm inputs have contributed to the price hike. What is really alarming is the fact that global rice reserve has plunged to nine weeks of consumption from 19 weeks consumption in 2001.
