Global food demand could jump again

GLOBAL food markets and prices will get another boost when the half of China’s population left behind in the current boom catches up, said Professor Robert Thompson, University of Illinois, at the 16th International Farm Management Congress taking place in Cork this week.

Expect another huge boost in demand for higher value foodstuffs when people in rural areas away from the coastal cities of China begin to share in the income growth, he told the 280 delegates from Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa and Nigeria.

“The US has effectively decided to go for ethanol production rather than grain exports, which means the world market will be available to those who can compete for it,” said Professor Thompson, at the Congress in University College Cork.