United Nations Organization for food and agriculture in Rome said that the rise in food is not a crisis but similarly is a very alarming situation worldwide. The rise in food prices has increased fears about the repetition of the crisis of 2007-2008. However, in the majority of poor countries so far have not been the wave of riots that rocked countries such as Haiti and Bangladesh two years ago, when agricultural commodities prices excessively. The increase in food costs will also be present in the developed economies, with companies from McDonalds to Kraft who have seen prices soar to the retail. High food prices are also a factor that has driven inflation, which is above the goals set by the Central Bank of Europe.
FAO (the food and Agriculture Organization) drew up a current index of the prices of food, a follow-up of costs to the wholesale raw materials such as wheat, corn, rice, oilseeds, dairy products, sugar and meats, which rose last month 214,7 points nearly 4.2 percent rise from November. The FAO food index is at its highest level since it began calculating the measure in 1990. During the 2007-08 food crisis, the index peaked at 213,5 in June 2008. FAO is trying to develop relatively stabilize prices for rice, one of the two most important cereals for global food security, which is still well below its record. Rice is the staple food for more than 3 billion people in Asia and Africa. However, the cost of this grain and others, such as wheat, is increasing rapidly in due to a poor harvest season and, of course, about the harmful effects of climate change.
On the other hand, the increase in sugar and meat costs are the main reason for the rise in the food index of the FAO. The increase in commodity prices makes it likely that global food import bill reached a record in 2011, after spearheading $1 billion last year for second time. In November, the FAO raised its forecast for 2010 to $1,026 million, almost 15 per cent from 2009 and within the record $1 031 million euros in 2008 during the food crisis. Agricultural commodities prices have risen following a series of poor harvests caused by bad weather, which also affected the industry focused on food technology. The situation was aggravated when the main producers of Europe, such as Russia and Ukraine imposed export restrictions, prompting importers in the Middle East and North Africa to see without sufficient income to make the Exchange. Similarly, the weakness of the U.S. dollar.UU., in which the majority of foodstuffs which are mentioned, has also contributed to increasing prices.