Story highlights
World Bank report reveals global food prices soared by 10% in July this year
Droughts and extreme temperatures across the world are the main cause
Domestic prices in some of the world's poorest countries rising sharply
World Bank calls on countries to do more to protect the vulnerable
A summer of droughts and extreme temperatures across the world threaten the planet’s most vulnerable people, as food prices rise.
A new report from the World Bank has revealed global food prices soared by 10% in July, with staples such as maize and soybean increasing by 25% to an all-time high.
The drought-hit United States – the world’s largest exporter of grains such as maize – is facing the worst production shortfalls since the “Dust Bowl” of the 1930s, while a scorching summer in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan hit wheat supplies, according to Food Price Watch.
Overall, the World Bank’s Food Price Index, which tracks the price of internationally traded food commodities, was 6% higher than in July of last year, and 1% over the previous peak of February 2011.
“Food prices rose again sharply threatening the health and well-being of millions of people,” said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim.