FAO  Regional policy consultation on high food prices in Europe and Central Asia Region, 20-22 June 2011, Istanbul, Turkey

In 2007, international food prices began to soar, and by mid-2008, they had reached their highest level in 30 years. Some governments responded to the food price crisis in haste, putting in place measures such as export bans, which often made the situation worse.

Food prices rose sharply in recent months. In January 2011, the FAO Food Price Index averaged 231 points – up 3.4 percent from December 2010 and the highest level (both in real and nominal terms) since FAO started measuring food prices in 1990.

In March, FAO kicked off a series of seminars designed to bring together interested development partners and to help governments make informed policy decisions to respond to the current rise in food prices. The two-day seminars are being rolled out at regional and subregional level, starting in Asia and Africa.

These seminars provide policy decision-makers from relevant government ministries (agriculture, trade and finance) with the opportunity to exchange experiences from the 2008 food price crisis and to become better acquainted with the pros and cons of the various policy measures mapped out in FAO’s newly updated Guide for policy and programmatic actions at country level to address high food prices.

The seminars are being implemented in the context of the Impact Focus Area that addresses actions towards global food security and in coherence with the Comprehensive Framework for Action (CFA) prepared by the High Level Task Force on the Global Food Security Crisis. The CFA which was updated in September 2010, is designed to encourage concerted responses to the food price crisis with actions that respond to the immediate needs of vulnerable populations and contribute to longer-term resilience (the twin track approach).

Representatives from producer organizations, the private sector, regional integration organizations and development partners, including IFAD and WFP, are also invited to the seminars.

Other partners such as the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank will have the chance to share their experiences and to explain the type of immediate support they can provide.

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