FOR a reminder that the world is in the grip of a food crisis, look no further than this year’s uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. Both were triggered in part by soaring prices, which are at an all-time high after extreme weather – especially last year’s heatwave in Russia – took its toll on agriculture.
Now the wheat crop in China, the world’s biggest producer, is threatened by drought. If the crop fails, prices will rise further as China imports wheat to make up the shortfall. A change in the weather might lead to lower prices later in the year, but any such respite will only be temporary…
