Record droughts, floods, and fires strain food markets’ resilience

By NATHANIAL GRONEWOLD of ClimateWire
August 12, 2010 UNITED NATIONS — A string of devastating natural disasters many are attributing to climate change has sent food prices on a roller coaster ride, leading to fears of a wave of climate-induced food price shocks of the sort that sparked rioting in the developing world two years ago. But international agriculture experts say those concerns are unfounded. Though they acknowledge dramatic spikes in wheat and corn, and new pricing pressure on rice, U.N. and other food policy experts say data show global food inventories are still healthy and that declining production in some parts of the world will be offset by bumper crops elsewhere. “We shouldn’t panic, and we shouldn’t think that there’s going to be another food crisis,” said Manuel Hernandez, a researcher at the International Food Policy Research Institute. Concern began when Russia recently announced a ban on wheat exports, citing a severe heat wave and drought that have charred that nation’s wheat crop in the fields. Massive wildfires near Russia’s breadbasket are further hampering farming. Experts say that Russia, which was previously on track to becoming the world’s largest exporter of wheat, has lost more than 20 percent of its crop to the drought. News of the drought and export ban has sent wheat prices soaring — wheat futures for September delivery flew from about $4.80 per bushel at the start of July to a high of about $8.40 earlier this month at the Chicago Board of Trade. Spiking wheat prices have sent futures prices for corn, soybeans, and oats all rising rapidly over the past month. Following Russia’s announcement of a trade ban, analysts at HSBC issued a warning that such knee-jerk policy responses could lead to a resumption of the price hike spiral and restrictive trade policies that sent many global staples doubling or tripling in price in a short time span in 2007 to 2008. Flooding in Pakistan and a series of deadly mudslides in central China further fueled the food price angst. Canada is expected to see its wheat crop fall by 20 percent this year due to adverse weather. And now Australia’s government is warning its farmers of a pending locust plague that could devastate that major exporter’s wheat production. U.N. officials are warning of the potential for a food crisis erupting in Pakistan. About 1 out of 10 Pakistanis has been hard hit by the flooding, and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that about 1.8 million acres of cropland is now underwater there. …

Record Droughts, Floods and Fires Strain Food Markets’ Resilience