RISING food prices and shortages could cause instability in many countries as the cost of staple food and vegetables reached their highest levels in two years, with scientists predicting further widespread droughts and floods.

    Although food stocks are generally good despite much of this year’s harvests being wiped out in Pakistan and Russia, sugar and rice remain at record prices.

    Global wheat and maize prices recently jumped nearly 30 percent in a few weeks while meat prices are at 20-year highs, according to the key Reuters-Jefferies commodity price indicator. The United States last week predicted that global wheat harvests would be 30 million tons lower than last year, a 5.5 percent fall. Meanwhile, the price of tomatoes in Egypt, cotton in China and bread in Pakistan are at near-record levels.

    “The situation has deteriorated since September,” said Abdolreza Abbassian of the UN food and agriculture organization. “In the last few weeks there have been signs we are heading the same way as in 2008.

    “We may not get to the prices of 2008 but this time they could stay high much longer.”

    However, opinions are sharply divided over whether these prices signal a world food crisis like the one in 2008 that helped cause riots in 25 countries, or simply reflect volatility in global commodity markets as countries claw their way through recession.

    “A food crisis on the scale of two or three years ago is not imminent, but the underlying causes [of what happened then] are still there,” said Chris Leather, Oxfam’s food policy adviser.

    “Prices are volatile and there is a lot of nervousness in the market. There are big differences between now and 2008. Harvests are generally better, global food stocks are better.”

    But other analysts highlight the food riots in Mozambique that killed 12 people last month and claim that spiraling prices could promote further political turmoil.

    They say this is particularly possible if the price of oil jumps, if there are further climatic shocks — such as the floods in Pakistan or the heatwave in Russia — or if speculators buy deeper into global food markets.

    “There is growing concern among countries about continuing volatility and uncertainty in food markets,” said Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank. “These concerns have been compounded by recent increases in grain prices.

    “World food price volatility remains significant and, in some countries, the volatility is adding to already higher local food prices.”

    The bank last week said that food price volatility would last a further five years, and asked governments to contribute to a crisis fund after requests were made for more than US$1 billion from developing countries.

    Mounting anger has greeted food price inflation of 21 percent in Egypt last year, along with 17 percent rises in India and similar rises in many other countries. Prices in the United Kingdom have risen 22 percent in three years.(SD-Agencies)