8 Nations That Might Face Food Riots

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From the farmers’ field to the grocery store to the food processor, consumers around the world can’t help but notice that the price of food keeps going up. And it’s going to continue for years, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.

Global food costs rose in April for the ninth time in 10 months, nearing a record reached in February, according to Bloomberg News. The bottom lines for everybody, from McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) to a market vendor in a developing country.

Food inflation has caused social instability since ancient times and continues to do so today. For instance, according to the U.N., almost 9 million people in the Horn of Africa need humanitarian assistance as a result of a severe drought, the effects of which are being worsened by high food prices and conflict. More countries are in similar predicaments.

Algeria

Africa’s second-largest country and largest natural gas producer is in a political crisis following the Arab spring. Activists have accused President Abdelaziz Bouteflika of stonewalling reform efforts, including a new constitution. Food price increases remain a concern. The U.K.’s Guardian newspaper reported in January that the cost of flour, sugar and salad oil had doubled in recent months, and that while the government put unemployment at 10%, independent organizations reported it at closer to 25%. Two people were killed in the ensuing riots. In response, the government cut prices of basic foodstuffs and ended 19 years of emergency rule.

Mexico

Tens of thousands of Mexicans took to the streets in 2007 to protest rising corn prices, among other things. Prices for corn flour, a key ingredient in tortillas, had skyrocketed by 400% during the prior three months. Corn prices rose again this year because a rare winter freeze destroyed as much as 1.5 million acres. Dow Jones recently reported that the Mexican government is so worried about shortages that it decided to lock in purchases of the commodity two years ahead of time.

South Korea

Even kimchi, a spicy pickled cabbage dish popular in South Korea, is not immune to food inflation. Last year, prices for the delicacy soared because poor harvests sharply reduced the supply of cabbage. South Koreans in October 2010 were aghast to learn that the price of a 2.5 kg head of napa cabbage had increased by about 350% in a month, according to the Wall Street Journal. In response, the government suspended tariffs on cabbage and agreed to buy additional vegetables from China. Earlier this week, South Koreans opposed to a planned free trade agreement blocked traffic in Seoul for about an hour, according to Bloomberg News.

Uganda

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni is blaming the media for the food and fuel price protests in the African nation. Security forces dispersed one recent protest with rubber bullets. According to the U.S. Agency for International Development, officials in Uganda are blocking Facebook and Twitter and censoring the media. “In Uganda, the price of staples such as wheat have increased up to 40%, according to the World Bank,” the agency says on its website. There is some good news for Ugandans. Data released today shows inflation had slowed from its highest level in 17 years in June. The bad news is inflation still is nearly 16%.

Libya

Food prices are skyrocketing as civil war rages in Libya. In response, the government of strongman Moammar Gadhafi abolished taxes on locally grown and imported food products, according to Reuters. The Associated Press reported in February that rice prices had soared 500%. Long lines were seen at bakeries in Tripoli. In April, the U.N. World Food Programme said it had begun delivering food aid through a newly opened humanitarian corridor to reach the western parts of the country that was affected most by the fighting. “A first convoy of eight trucks loaded with 240 tons of wheat flour and 9.1 tons of high-energy biscuits – enough to feed nearly 50,000 people for a month – crossed … (into) to western Libya from Ras Jedir on the Libyan-Tunisian border,” according to the U.N.

Bolivia

Violent protests rocked the South American nation earlier this year because of food shortages. The protests got so bad that President Evo Morales was forced to abandon a public appearance in the city of Oruno earlier this year. This week, he signed a new law that set up state-owned enterprises to produce seeds and fertilizers so Bolivians can feed themselves. “The recent rise in global food prices forced many Bolivians to abandon their indigenous staples, such as quinoa, in favour of cheaper, imported products,” according to the BBC. Bolivia remains desperately poor, with some 80% of its rural population living below the poverty line, according to the U.N. World Food Programme.

Haiti

Riots broke out in the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country over the rising price of rice in 2008 and resulted in the ouster of Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis. The country’s  problems continue today. Haitian farmers are unable to compete against rice imported into the country from aid groups, creating a situation where Haiti has not been able to feed itself for more than two decades, according to the AP. Rising food prices continue to affect the beleaguered nation this year. The AP noted in May that the price of rice had dropped but corn had doubled since the 2008 earthquake.

Indonesia

Food price riots in Indonesia are nothing new. They occurred during the country’s economic crisis in 1998 and in the worldwide economic slowdown 10 years later. Riots still are a problem today as the PBS News Hour noted earlier this week. “A slice of tempe, a soy product, that cost about US $0.11 last year is now at $0.34. A liter of rice was $0.52 last year and now it is up to $0.70,” the website says, adding that the family who provided this information has cut back on milk, chicken and eggs during the past year. “For a family living already on the margins, and spending around 80 to 90 percent of their income on food, those seemingly small price increases translate into hard decisions.”

Jonathan Berr is an award-winning freelance journalist who has focused on business news since 1997. He’s luckier with his investments than his beloved yet underachieving Philadelphia sports teams.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2011/07/8-nations-food-riot/.

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