BRASILIA – The G20 group of economies is set to launch joint monitoring of world supplies of key grains to help prevent speculation from driving up food prices, a draft statement of a ministerial meeting this week shows.
Farm ministers gathering in Paris on June 22-23 will also urge the group’s finance ministers to control farm commodity speculation by adopting stricter regulations for food derivatives markets, said the statement, obtained by Reuters.Global food prices rallied earlier this year on rising grain costs, renewing concern about food security and inflationary pressure, particularly in developing countries. Despite easing since then, food prices in May were up 37 per cent from a year earlier.The statement is a preliminary draft. An agreement on what measures to adopt will emerge only after the final text has been debated at next week’s meeting. The draft calls on G20 finance ministers to impose position limits on futures markets, restricting the amount speculators can bet on rises or falls in food prices. France and others have blamed excessive speculation for recent price spikes. – Nampa-Reuters
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