ABSTRACT
A dramatic rise in food prices in 2007-2008 shook the world out of its complacency. There was nearly a 40 percent increase in the food price index relative to 9 percent in 2006 (von Braun 2008). Wheat prices almost quadrupled and maize prices almost tripled between 2000 and 2008. The adverse effects of this price rise fell on foodgrain importing countries and on net buyers of foodgrains within countries (Quisumbing et al. 2008, von Braun 2008-09). The poor, and especially women and children in poor households, were the most adversely affected. The price rise, by some estimates, added 105 million to the poor, mostly in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa (Ivanic and Martin 2008). Although the price spike in 20072008 was especially sharp, the overall upward trend in food prices is expected to continue. This, along with the prospect of price volatility, remains a major global concern.
