Grain prices will likely remain elevated at the end of this year, a Reuters poll showed, providing little relief to food prices while continuing to challenge policymakers battling to tamp down inflation.
Many analysts say the era of cheap food may well be over as rising crop production struggles to keep pace with soaring global demand, particularly from the mushrooming middle-class populations of developing nations such as China and India.
But experts do not expect a repeat of the late-year grain market rallies of 2010 which ignited record food inflation that stirred popular unrest in the Middle East and North Africa, toppling governments in Egypt and Tunisia.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s index of food prices hit a record peak in February, creating fears of a repeat of the 2007/08 global food crisis that prompted food riots and forced millions into hunger.
Governments have progressively taken steps to rein in soaring costs for staples that disproportionately impact the world’s poor, including the systemic releases of state grain stocks in China and the construction of grain silos in India.
Much will hinge on weather in the U.S. Farm Belt this summer as near-perfect crop conditions are needed in the world’s top grain exporter to soothe markets on edge over shrinking stockpiles of corn and soybeans and rapidly rising demand for food.
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https://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/25/us-markets-grains-poll-idUSTRE76O43220110725
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