After decades of stability, the global prices of such food staples as wheat, maize and rice have skyrocketed since 2004. Causes include high energy and fertilizer costs, surging demand and economic development, and a move to biofuels. Virtually all of the world’s extra corn produced from 2004 to 2007—primarily grown in the U.S.—went to make fuel. Prices may not start to decline until the middle of the next decade. In the meantime, the high costs have put tremendous stress on the world’s poor and may exacerbate regional conflicts.
Number of countries in crisis because of food prices: 36
Number in Africa: 21
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Metric tons of world cereal stocks in:
2003: 486.3 million
2005: 469.3 million
2008: 405.1 million
Expected prices, as percent increase above 2004 prices, of:
2008 2010
Maize 79 76
Rice 101 113
Soybeans 56 44
Wheat 119 104
SOURCES: Rising Food Prices: Policy Options and World Bank Response, World Bank, April 9, 2008; United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization
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