UN special rapporteur reveals reason for rise in food prices

The rise in food prices on the world market is because some players resort to speculative actions, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter, said in an interview with La Premiere, Report informs.

He noted that the real reason for the rise in prices is not the lack of food, but the panic that reigns in the markets due to the fact that no one knows when the conflict in Ukraine will end: “Some financial players are taking advantage of this uncertainty by resorting to speculative steps, automatically leading to higher prices.”

Schutter noted that most of the food stocks are in the hands of a few operators - large grain traders who are not involved in the exchange of information, and this is necessary for the heads of state to stop volatility in the markets.

Some 80% of the world’s grain transactions are controlled by 5-6 companies, they don’t publish data, markets predict an increase in demand and take speculative steps, which explains the increase in food prices in the world market, he added.