Food crisis talks set to begin

Envoys from 26 Latin American and Caribbean countries meet on Friday to discuss the rising cost of food and draw up a united policy for the region.

The talks in Caracas, Venezuela, mark the beginning of a week of meetings on the issue, leading up to a three-day UN food crisis summit in Rome on Tuesday. According to the World Bank, global food prices have risen by 83% over the past three years. The lender has announced a package of food grants totalling $1.2bn (£608m).

An influential report on Thursday warned that higher food prices might be here to stay as demand from developing countries and production costs rose. Prices would fall, but only gradually, the report by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said.

Food grants
The BBC’s James Ingham, in the Venezuelan capital, says that like much of the rest of the developing world, Latin America’s poor have not escaped from the increased food prices. (Continue Reading…)