Dealing with costlier food

DATELINE BANGKOK

Dealing with costlier food

Khao Sod Editorial _ In its Dec 6, 2007 edition, The Economist told its readers to brace for high food prices, which it said would affect the global community for several more years. According to the London-based magazine, a long era of falling food prices that began in 1974 came to an end in 2005. For the past two years, global food prices have gone up by 75%. One reason for this is rising economic growth and high consumption in several emerging economies, including India and China. The average Chinese consumer now eats more than 50 kilogrammes of meat, compared with 20 kilogrammes in 1985.

The high meat consumption also affects grain consumption. It takes three kilogrammes of cereals to produce a kilo of pork, and eight for a kilo for beef.

The rampant demand for ethanol as fuel has also pushed up the price of maize and other crops which can be extracted for oil. Overall, demand for cereals is outstripping supply.

Thailand is also affected by this phenomenon, as the price of farm produce has steadily increased during the past few years. Higher food prices mean higher income for farmers. But poor people in the cities and people with fixed salaries are hurt. The government must deal with this problem. It is essential to ensure a fair distribution of income for the rural poor, but urban dwellers _ particularly those with low income and fixed salaries _ must not be left to fend for themselves.