In recent years, the financial markets have discovered the huge opportunities presented by agricultural commodities. The consequences are devastating, as speculators drive up food prices and plunge millions of people into poverty. But investors care little about the effects of their deals in the real world.
Of course, plant-based fuels are increasingly competing with food production, but until now they only made up 6 percent of the global grain harvest. According to the World Bank, biofuels play a much smaller role in price increases than generally assumed. Besides, in June the US Congress voted against further subsidies for biofuel production, a vote that is seen as the beginning of a phase-out.
The same holds true for the new demand for meat in emerging economies. Although meat consumption and, along with it, the demand for feed grain is rising, the Washington-based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) states that countries like China, India and Indonesia can satisfy their additional demand without significantly increasing meat imports. "We find no evidence that alleged stronger demand by emerging economies had any effect on world prices," a World Bank report concludesrrad..'' DER SPIEGEL
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