09 October 2010
- RSIS
- Publication
- RSIS Publications
- Workshop Report on “Securing Food Futures in the Asia-Pacific”
Abstract
Between 2005 and 2008, global food prices increased 83 per cent. The price of wheat rose by 127 per cent, rice by 170 per cent and that of maize tripled. As a result the number of people suffering from chronic hunger reached a historic high of 1.02 billion in 2009, with the Asia-Pacific region accounting for 63 per cent of that total (642 million people). Although the situation improved in 2010 due to a more favourable economic environment and a fall in both international and domestic food prices, the future remains daunting. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), for example, forecast that the average wheat and coarse grain prices over the next 10 years will increase by between 15 and 40 per cent in real terms compared to average levels during 1997-2006. These events and projections demonstrate the global nature of the food problem, and underscore the importance of deeper regional cooperation.
Abstract
Between 2005 and 2008, global food prices increased 83 per cent. The price of wheat rose by 127 per cent, rice by 170 per cent and that of maize tripled. As a result the number of people suffering from chronic hunger reached a historic high of 1.02 billion in 2009, with the Asia-Pacific region accounting for 63 per cent of that total (642 million people). Although the situation improved in 2010 due to a more favourable economic environment and a fall in both international and domestic food prices, the future remains daunting. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), for example, forecast that the average wheat and coarse grain prices over the next 10 years will increase by between 15 and 40 per cent in real terms compared to average levels during 1997-2006. These events and projections demonstrate the global nature of the food problem, and underscore the importance of deeper regional cooperation.