G20 fails to tackle food price speculation

Date: 23 June 2011

An action plan supposed to address food insecurity launched today by the G20 agriculture ministers has been criticised by campaigners, who say it fails to fully address the root causes of volatile food prices, including financial speculation, which is driving up prices.

Anti-poverty group the World Development Movement said that opposition from countries including the UK had led to the watering down of proposals that could have seen countries commit to setting limits on speculators’ share of the market.

Deborah Doane, director of the World Development Movement said:

Without tackling excessive speculation, the G20’s efforts to rein in volatile food prices will be wasted. The agriculture ministers have ducked controversy, so it falls to G20 finance ministers to address speculation and the hunger and poverty it causes.”

The anti-poverty group has called on the UK government to back EU and international efforts to regulate commodity markets. 

Ms. Doane continued:

The UK government’s stance in defence of excessive speculation is untenable. It must put its weight behind European plans for regulation, putting the needs of hungry people before the profits of banks like Goldman Sachs and Barclays Capital.”

For more information, call Miriam Ross on (+44) (0)20 7820 4913, (+44) (0)7711 875 345 or email [email protected]