Mark Matthews is a Merrill Lynch strategist based in Hong Kong. Here is his analysis of the widespread reports about food riots in Asia. The following is excerpted from “Guanxi” (23 May 2008). Food scares are exaggerated, but good copy for media We noted on our European trip a high degree of concern over rising food prices …
“Food scares are exaggerated, but good copy for the media” Read More »
Much nonsense has been written about the food crisis, much of it by people using it to build support for their personal causes. It is a multi-faceted problem. Some aspects have been discussed on this blog, such as decades of underinvestment, rising demand, and inflation. Another key factor is government policy, the subject of this post. …
Teach a man to fish, and you understand what we have done wrong in Haiti Read More »
Summary: Many factors are driving up food prices, but the elephant in the room is global inflation. This explains why prices are rising throughout the entire commodity complex (energy, industrial materials, precious metals, agriculture). Plus brief discussions of biofuels, long cycles of food prices, the role of government policy, and the likelihood of resource wars. “Global Market Brief: Food …
Higher food prices, riots, shortages – what is going on? Read More »
Kevin O’Rourke, Jakarta-based author of the Reformasi Weekly report on Indonesian politics, has generously provided a local perspective on the food situation in Indonesia. His detail-rich report reminds us of the complex social dynamics of other societies — even things that look so simple in a one-column article in the New York Times. So many …
Summary — this post contains three sections (also note the updates at the end) Reporting indications of a global food crisis. Research suggesting it could become much much worse. Analysis on the scope and significance of the problem. It is not now clear if we have a serious problem, or just a temporary abundance of bad news. …
