| Flour price hike?Wheat prices on the world market have soared over the past two months by more than 40% in what experts are blaming on mostly speculations in the commodities market.Yesterday, officials of the National Milling Company of Guyana Inc. (NAMILCO) said that they are monitoring the situation closely.“Yes, we are very much aware of this worrying situation. While we buy from Canada on a per-shipment basis, obviously our next shipment in about six weeks will be at whatever prices are prevailing,” a senior official of NAMILCO said.While pointing out that the milling company has sought not to raise any prices, even when it went up on the overseas market, the official admitted it is a worrying situation.Officials of the Ministry of Agriculture also said that they are monitoring the situation carefully and have already taken measures to talk to stakeholders.According to the guardian.co.uk website, there are fears that the spectre of food inflation is back. The article noted that two years ago the world was gripped by the prospect of supplies running low, thanks to a combination of rocketing demand from emerging countries and tightening supply as farmers turned wheat fields over to biofuels.But then along came the recession and commodity prices plummeted and out of the headlines.The price of wheat, oil and copper soared this week but the picture looks much less clear this time. Old-fashioned supply and demand is still at work, but there are fears that wild rumours and speculation are driving up prices.“Wheat prices, which are up 40% over the last month, reached a two-year high as concerns about a drought in Russia and rotting stocks of grain in India exercised markets in London and Chicago. Claims that a major crop failure in Australia,Deion Sanders Falcons Jersey, following an invasion of locusts and a wet summer in Canada, could lead to a worldwide shortage, have pushed up prices in recent weeks to levels not seen since 2008.”The rise in futures contract prices traded on the major markets also follows a United Nations report in June that warned food prices could rise as much as 40% over the coming decade,Wholesale Authentic Jerseys, amid growing demand from emerging markets and for biofuel productionThe World Development Movement said reports pointing to a long-term upward trend in prices and the recent weather-related farming crisis had proved fertile ground for speculators who bet on rising prices.Tim Jones,Throwback Jerseys, policy adviser to the WDM, said figures from US commodity futures trading commission showed the majority of contracts on foodstuff over the past six weeks,Cheap Sports Jerseys, including wheat, had bet on rising prices.“There is strong evidence that speculators have seen an opportunity to drive up prices. But the damage caused by their activities is higher prices for everyone and people in developing countries can ill-afford to pay the cost,” he said.According to many traders,Marlon Humphrey Jersey, the rise in oil and metals follows growing confidence that Europe has safely navigated the sovereign debt crisis caused by the near collapse of the Greek economy. “Commodities are telling us that this global recovery has reasonable momentum,Artemi Panarin Jersey,” Adam Carr, a senior economist at broker ICAP told Reuters. |
