World Grain - November 2010 - 74
FEATURE
Addressing
food insecurity
T
he Russian government's recent decision to embargo
wheat exports has put food security back on the agenda of policymakers. The food situation does not seem
likely to deteriorate into the volatility that characterized
world markets in 2007-08, when prices for food staples
like wheat and rice tripled. Prices, however, have not fallen
back to pre-2007 levels, nor has the number of global hungry retreated much from its post-2008 spike to 900 million.
Consequently, the stress on the world's poorest and hungriest may be severe, even with smaller disturbances to global
markets.
For this reason, debate is renewing over what steps may be
taken to reduce food insecurity. Three ideas deserve review.
They are global stocks, virtual stocks and contract sanctity
(supplemented with purchasing-power aid).
GLOBAL STOCKS
The notion of food reserves reaches back to biblical times,
if not before. More recently, it was the leading recommendation coming out of the First World Food Conference in Rome
in 1974, and it resurfaces regularly when food supplies tighten. Unfortunately, it poses several insurmountable problems.
One involves who should accumulate and release these
stocks. No international agency has the credibility or the resources to execute such a program.
Moreover, getting agreement on when to accumulate and
when to release stocks has proven elusive. Food import-dependent countries want stocks released at low prices. Exportdependent countries want them released, if at all, only at very
high prices. No inter-governmental agreement between these
conflicting views seems likely.
Finally, stockholding is a costly exercise. Acquisition costs
are incurred up front. Interest and storage costs accumulate
over time. Any "forward positioning" of stocks in regions
particularly vulnerable to shortfalls adds in transportation expenses while putting such stocks "out of position" to serve
emergency needs elsewhere. And the existence of stocks tends
to depress prices (which deters production), to displace private
stockholding (which undercuts the basic purpose of reserves)
and to discourage market- and private-sector adjustments to
supply/demand shifts.
76
by Robbin S. Johnson
Contract sanctity and targeted
purchasing assurance offer the best
solution for improving food security
VIRTUAL STOCKS
Proponents of virtual stocks take a different approach in
assessing the cause of food insecurity and in addressing its
remediation. They acknowledge that tightening carryover
stocks create the preconditions for aggravated food insecurity,
but they recognize the costs and burden-sharing issues that
prevent "global reserves" from becoming a reality.
They conclude that it should be possible to avoid the extremes of price volatility that occur in tight markets by counteracting what they label as speculative buying on futures markets. So, when feverish buying of futures occurs, they would
have some new international entity begin selling aggressively
in those markets to counteract this speculative fever.
Virtual stocks pose many of the same sovereignty and conflict-of-interest issues as global stocks do: To whom should
such authority be ceded? How would it be funded? At what
price levels should it act?
To this shared set of problems should be added one more.
Speculative activity in futures markets (as distinguished from
physical hoarding by sellers or buyers) generally has been
shown to dampen price volatility rather than to accentuate it.
It does so by encouraging those who can to reduce use while
signaling producers to expand output. Trying to counter such
speculation, then, actually could worsen the situation, and it
does nothing to address physical hoarding.
SANCTITY OF CONTRACTS
Rather than blaming markets and empowering governments
to "manage them better," contract sanctity would attack public misbehavior in food markets. Global trade in food staples
averages around 10% to 15% of annual consumption (a little
less for rice, a little more for wheat). These international trade
November 2010 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.com
http://www.World-Grain.com
World Grain - November 2010
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of World Grain - November 2010
Contents
World Grain - November 2010 - 1
World Grain - November 2010 - 2
World Grain - November 2010 - 3
World Grain - November 2010 - Contents
World Grain - November 2010 - 5
World Grain - November 2010 - 6
World Grain - November 2010 - 7
World Grain - November 2010 - 8
World Grain - November 2010 - 9
World Grain - November 2010 - 10
World Grain - November 2010 - 11
World Grain - November 2010 - 12
World Grain - November 2010 - 13
World Grain - November 2010 - 14
World Grain - November 2010 - 15
World Grain - November 2010 - 16
World Grain - November 2010 - 17
World Grain - November 2010 - 18
World Grain - November 2010 - 19
World Grain - November 2010 - 20
World Grain - November 2010 - 21
World Grain - November 2010 - 22
World Grain - November 2010 - 23
World Grain - November 2010 - 24
World Grain - November 2010 - 25
World Grain - November 2010 - 26
World Grain - November 2010 - 27
World Grain - November 2010 - 28
World Grain - November 2010 - 29
World Grain - November 2010 - 30
World Grain - November 2010 - 31
World Grain - November 2010 - 32
World Grain - November 2010 - 33
World Grain - November 2010 - 34
World Grain - November 2010 - 35
World Grain - November 2010 - 36
World Grain - November 2010 - 37
World Grain - November 2010 - 38
World Grain - November 2010 - 39
World Grain - November 2010 - 40
World Grain - November 2010 - 41
World Grain - November 2010 - 42
World Grain - November 2010 - 43
World Grain - November 2010 - 44
World Grain - November 2010 - 45
World Grain - November 2010 - 46
World Grain - November 2010 - 47
World Grain - November 2010 - 48
World Grain - November 2010 - 49
World Grain - November 2010 - 50
World Grain - November 2010 - 51
World Grain - November 2010 - 52
World Grain - November 2010 - 53
World Grain - November 2010 - 54
World Grain - November 2010 - 55
World Grain - November 2010 - 56
World Grain - November 2010 - 57
World Grain - November 2010 - 58
World Grain - November 2010 - 59
World Grain - November 2010 - 60
World Grain - November 2010 - 61
World Grain - November 2010 - 62
World Grain - November 2010 - 63
World Grain - November 2010 - 64
World Grain - November 2010 - 65
World Grain - November 2010 - 66
World Grain - November 2010 - 67
World Grain - November 2010 - 68
World Grain - November 2010 - 69
World Grain - November 2010 - 70
World Grain - November 2010 - 71
World Grain - November 2010 - 72
World Grain - November 2010 - 73
World Grain - November 2010 - 74
World Grain - November 2010 - 75
World Grain - November 2010 - 76
World Grain - November 2010 - 77
World Grain - November 2010 - 78
World Grain - November 2010 - 79
World Grain - November 2010 - 80
World Grain - November 2010 - 81
World Grain - November 2010 - 82
World Grain - November 2010 - 83
World Grain - November 2010 - 84
World Grain - November 2010 - 85
World Grain - November 2010 - 86
World Grain - November 2010 - 87
World Grain - November 2010 - 88
World Grain - November 2010 - 89
World Grain - November 2010 - 90
World Grain - November 2010 - 91
World Grain - November 2010 - 92
World Grain - November 2010 - 93
World Grain - November 2010 - 94
World Grain - November 2010 - 95
World Grain - November 2010 - 96
World Grain - November 2010 - 97
World Grain - November 2010 - 98
World Grain - November 2010 - 99
World Grain - November 2010 - 100
World Grain - November 2010 - 101
World Grain - November 2010 - 102
World Grain - November 2010 - 103
World Grain - November 2010 - 104
World Grain - November 2010 - 105
World Grain - November 2010 - 106
World Grain - November 2010 - 107
World Grain - November 2010 - 108
World Grain - November 2010 - 109
World Grain - November 2010 - 110
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-october-2024
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-september-2024
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-august-2024
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-july-2024
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-june-2024
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-may-2024
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-april-2024
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-march-2024
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-february-2024
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-january-2024
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-december-2023
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-november-2023
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-october-2023
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-september-2023
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-august-2023
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-july-2023
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-june-2023
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-may-2023
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-april-2023
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-march-2023
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-february-2023
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-january-2023
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-december-2022
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-november-2022
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-october-2022
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-september-2022
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-august-2022
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-july-2022
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-june-2022
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-may-2022
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-april-2022
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-march-2022
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-february-2022
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-january-2022
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-december-2021
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/-world-grain-november-2021
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-october-2021
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-september-2021
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-august-2021
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-july-2021
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-june-2021
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-may-2021
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-april-2021
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-march-2021
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/world-grain-february-2021
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2021_01_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2020_12_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2020_11_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2020_10_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2020_09_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2020_08_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2020_07_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2020_06_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2020_05_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2020_04_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2020_03_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2020_02_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2020_01_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2019_12_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2019_11_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2019_10_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2019_09_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2019_08_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2019_07_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2019_06_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2019_05_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2019_04_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2019_03_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2019_02_01
https://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2019_01_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2018_12_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2018_11_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2018_10_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2018_09_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2018_08_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2018_07_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2018_06_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2018_05_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2018_04_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2018_03_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2018_02_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2018_01_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2017_12_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2017_11_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2017_10_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2017_09_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2017_08_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2017_07_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2017_06_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2017_05_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2017_04_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2017_03_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2017_02_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2017_01_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2016_12_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2016_11_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2016_10_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2016_09_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2016_08_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2016_07_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2016_06_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2016_05_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2016_04_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2016_03_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2016_02_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2016_01_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2015_12_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2015_11_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2015_10_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2015_09_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2015_08_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2015_07_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2015_06_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2015_05_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2015_04_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2015_03_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2015_02_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2015_01_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2014_12_15
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2014_12_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2014_11_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2014_10_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2014_09_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2014_08_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2014_07_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2014_06_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2014_05_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2014_04_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2014_03_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2014_02_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2014_01_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2013_12_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2013_11_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2013_10_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2013_09_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2013_08_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2013_07_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2013_06_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2013_05_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2013_04_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2013_03_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2013_02_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2013_01_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2012_12_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2012_11_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2012_10_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2012_09_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2012_08_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2012_07_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2012_06_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2012_05_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2012_04_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2012_03_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2012_02_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2012_01_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2011_12_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2011_11_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2011_10_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/20111_09_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2011_08_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2011_07_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2011_06_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2011_05_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2011_04_01
https://www.nxtbook.com/sosland/wg/2011_03_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2011_02_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2011_02_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2011_02_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2011_01_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2010_12_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2010_11_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2010_10_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2010_09_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2010_08_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2010_07_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2010_06_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2010_05_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2010_04_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2010_03_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2010_02_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2010_01_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2009_12_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2009_11_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2009_10_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2009_09_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2009_08_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2009_07_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2009_06_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2009_05_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2009_04_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2009_03_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2009_02_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2009_01_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2008_12_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2008_11_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2008_10_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2008_09_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2008_08_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2008_07_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2008_06_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2008_05_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2008_04_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2008_03_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2008_02_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2008_01_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2007_12_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2007_11_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2007_10_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2007_09_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2007_08_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2007_07_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2007_06_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2007_05_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2007_04_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2007_03_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2007_02_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2007_01_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2006_12_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2006_11_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2006_10_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2006_09_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2006_08_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2006_07_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2006_06_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2006_05_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2006_04_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2006_03_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2006_02_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2006_01_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2005_12_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2005_11_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2005_10_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2005_09_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2005_08_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2005_07_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2005_06_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2005_05_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2005_04_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2005_03_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2005_02_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2005_01_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2004_12_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2004_11_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2004_10_02
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2004_10_02
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2004_10_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2004_09_01
http://digital.world-grain.com/sosland/wg/2004_08_01
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com