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Abdolreza Abbassian Benedicte Gravrand, Opalesque Geneva.

The Food and Agriculture Organization for the United Nations (FAO) published its bi-annual Food Outlook report yesterday; it says that high and volatile agricultural commodity prices are likely to prevail for the rest of 2011 and into 2012. Inventory rundowns and too modest increases in production for most crops account for the continuing strong prices – so far.

Food supply is barely meeting current demands, said analyst Abdolreza Abbassian on an FAO video. And food prices have been "stubbornly" high for nearly six months. Poorer, importing countries are and will be directly affected by increased prices; for 2011, the overall import bill should reach almost $1.3tln – 21% more than last year.

This year, international food prices reached levels last seen during the 2007-8 food crisis, due to unfavourable weather and other factors such as the catastrophe in Japan, political unrest in MENA and oil prices increases. The FAO Food Price Index dropped slightly in May due to declines in cereals and sugar prices; it averaged 232 points from 235 points in April, but was still 37% above May 2010.

Agriculture status quo "The main socio-economic factors that drive increasing food demand and water usage are population growth, increasing urbanisation and rising incomes," said the Food and Agriculture Organisation in 2009. Add t......................

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