Call for world trade deal to cut food prices
Britain’s Alistair Darling called for a deal that improves access by poor countries to developed-country markets and cuts distortion subsidies in rich countries.
Germany’s Wieczorek-Zeul said fully opening markets in rich countries to imports would lead to greater food security in developing countries by making it more worthwhile for them to cultivate agricultural produce.
Former US trade negotiator Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank, has also called for a new deal to respond to global food prices rising by more than 80% since 2005. “If ever there is a time to cut distorting agricultural subsidies and open markets for food imports, it must be now. If not now, when?” he asked.
But not everyone agrees that a deal would ease raging global food inflation that has sent protesters onto the streets from Egypt to Haiti. Many experts expect a new global pact would lift food prices slightly, at least at first.
