The world is headed to a food crisis. Russia has announced a 12 month extension of its grain export ban, coinciding with riots in Mozamique that have left seven dead. The Financial Times warns that this could lead to a repeat of the 2007-08 food shortages which set off riots in countries around the world and helped trigger the collapse of governments in Haiti and Madagascar.
At the same time, The Independent reports that freakish weather conditions and soaring demand from China, Brazil and other fast-emerging economies have pushed meat prices around the world to a 20-year high, sending food prices to their highest level in two years. This will push inflation higher right around the world. It's a warning for governments.
This week, I wrote a column about how the world was headed towards a global famine and we could be seeing the first signs of this happening.
The French and Russian revolutions showed us the political fallout from food crises. Hopefully, the looming food shortage might galvanize governments into acting.
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