Det konkluderer et nyt stort studie, som opfordrer Verdenshandelsorganisationen til at undtage de fattigste og mest udsatte (LDC)-lande fra begrænsninger i kornlandene eksport, når der er mangel på korn eller frygt for det.
JOHANNESBURG, 18 September 2012 (IRIN): High cereal (korn) prices have bloated countries’ food import bills in the past decade, partly because of export restrictions imposed by some governments that have squeezed supply (presset forsyningerne).
As cereal prices begin to again climb, a new study has called on the World Trade Organization (WTO) to take action to exempt (undtage) poor countries from other nations’ export restrictions.
The WTO allows countries to impose export restrictions and bans (direkte eksport-forbud) as a temporary measure to address critical food shortages.
But these restrictions affect poor countries, which buy most of their food supply, in two ways: They push food prices up globally, making it more expensive for poor countries to buy food, and they force food-importing countries to shop for deals long distances away.
The WTO can help poor countries by ensuring that other nations’ export restrictions do not apply to them, explained Alberto Valdés, research associate at the Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago.
He is the lead author of the study, which was conducted for the Geneva-based International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD).
During the 2008 food crisis, least developed countries (LDCs) saw their food import bills triple to 24 billion US dollar from nine billion in 2000, according to a study by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
A 2011 World Bank study said 44 million people in low- and middle-income countries fell into poverty as a result of food price spikes in mid-2010 and early 2011.
Today, global maize prices are again rising, prompted by a drought in the US, the world’s largest maize exporter.
Sounding alarm bells
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http://www.irinnews.org/Report/96333/FOOD-Poor-import-reliant-countries-need-help
