Og vi taler ikke om tilbudsaviserne, men om at tørke i et fjernt hjørne af verden kan påvirke priserne på madvarer rundt om på kloden – for der skal ikke meget til at skabe panik på de internationale fødevaremarkeder, siger eksperter.
JOHANNESBURG, 15 February 2013 (IRIN): Who or what do you blame when the price of maize seems to keep going through the roof?
If you did not mention fuel subsidies (støtteordninger), then you need to read this list of emerging food issues in Africa.
Weather holds the balance:
Global supplies of wheat and maize remain tight, increasing the food supply’s vulnerability to weather disasters, says Abdolreza Abbassian, secretary of the Inter-governmental Group on Grains at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
“The current low stocks for both wheat and maize are a reason for concern because even small shocks could cause panic and speculation in international markets and contribute to price volatility,” said Gary Eilerts, programme manager of the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET).
Maize supplies are tight because of the 2012 drought in the US, the world’s largest maize exporter.
Drought in Russia in 2012 has also affected the global wheat supply. “Prices will remain high in the coming months and [are] vulnerable to evolving global market conditions,” said Eilerts.
The role of South Africa
Regionally, Southern Africa – where maize is the main staple (grundnæringsmiddel) – is the most dependent on maize imports, says Liliana Balbi, team leader of FAO’s Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS).
“Several countries rely on imports from the sub-region’s main producer and exporter, South Africa, where prices reflect trends in the international market in addition to internal supply/demand conditions”, noted she.
Expensive maize in South Africa in the second half of 2012 has led to high prices, particularly in Lesotho and Swaziland.
But “rising maize price trends in other countries, such as Malawi and Mozambique mainly reflect domestic dynamics,” she said.
“North African countries, highly dependent on maize imports for the feed industry, have also faced higher import bills… However, extensive food subsidies in place limit the price transmission to consumers,” said Balbi.
In Eastern Africa, Kenya and Somalia rely mostly on the regional export markets, such as Uganda and Tanzania, Balbi explained, so they are unaffected by the international markets.
Wheat exports from the US have also been affected, as some of its wheat has been locally diverted as a substitute for maize to feed animals.
Though high, global maize and wheat prices have remained stable thanks to increased supplies from southern hemisphere countries, like Argentina, Brazil and South Africa, which harvest in the second half of the year.
Emergence of the South:
Læs videre på
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97487/Five-food-issues-to-watch-out-for
