But there are plenty people who say he's wrong and that prices are and will remain stable. We'll see.Just over two years since Egypt's dictator President Hosni Mubarak resigned , little has changed.
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We now know that the fundamental triggers for the Arab spring were unprecedented food price rises. The first sign things were unravelling hit in 2008, when a global rice shortage coincided with dramatic increases in staple food prices, triggering food riots across the middle east, north Africa and south Asia. A month before the fall of the Egyptian and Tunisian regimes, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) reported record high food prices for dairy, meat, sugar and cereals.
Since 2008, global food prices have been consistently higher than in preceding decades, despite wild fluctuations. This year, even with prices stabilising, the food price index remains at 210 – which some experts believe is the threshold beyond which civil unrest becomes probable. The FAO warns that 2013 could see prices increase later owing to tight grain stocks from last year's adverse crop weather.
Food price speculation taken off the menu
Nestle comments spark debate over global food pricesAn Oxfam report that accuses banks trading agricultural commodities of “speculating on hunger” is transmitting high-voltage shocks across the fund management industry.
As the price of food rises, is there profit to be made?The World Development Movement (WDM) has hit back at comments made by Nestle chief Paul Bulcke that financial speculation has no effect on global food prices.
Speaking at the City Food Lecture in London last week, Bulcke told attendees that higher food prices and food price speculation should be welcomed. He said it had a "positive influence on global food markets" and "did not affect trends in prices".
The comments, however, did little to please the UK poverty campaign group WDM, which said the Nestle chief "ignores a growing body of evidence pointing to the opposite conclusion".
Miriam Ross from the group said: "The OECD and the UN Conference on Trade and Development are among the many institutions whose research has concluded the speculation can exacerbate food price volatility.
Get ready for higher food prices in 2013Noticed the price of sugar lately? Potatoes? Fresh fruit? A weak pound, US drought and one of the wettest years on record for Britain have all contributed to the cost of your shopping basket soaring.
When sterling falls, your money buys fewer of the commodities that need to be imported. In fact, the recent sharp falls probably haven't had their full impact in yet.
Last year Canadian consumers experienced modest increases in food prices. In fact, not only did food prices barely increase, but fruit and vegetable prices decreased by more than eight per cent.
Unfortunately, this year will be a different story. Several forecasts predict food prices will go up anywhere from 1.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent, likely exceeding our national inflation rate.
