THE WORLD FACING THREAT OF FAMINE?

Inflation is becoming rampant worldwide. The global crisis caused by rallying prices has exacerbated with the soaring cost of food, which has hit record highs since 1945. 

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that prices for food around the world have risen 60 per cent in the past three years and more than doubled compared to 2001. 

No less disappointing are the figures cited by the World Bank, which says prices have increased 83 per cent in the past three years.

Analysts say one of the key reasons for the hike in food prices is ramp-up in the production of "biological fuel", or alcohol which is used as fuel for vehicles. Another factor that has an adverse impact on the prices is poor harvests in many countries exporting agricultural produce. Rising income of the population, and accordingly, food consumption, in developing nations, is also a factor. 

But the key reason for soaring food prices referred to by analysts is rising world crude prices. There are no grounds for optimism in this respect given that OPEC, which accounts for 40 per cent of the world's oil exports, has no plans to increase output in the foreseeable future. Moreover, Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has said that $115 a barrel was an unreasonably low price. It remains to be guessed what is in store for the world if prices for energy resources continue to climb.

In light of the worsening food crisis, 40 countries have imposed a ban on the exports of agricultural produce, which is only making things worse. Certainly, consumers in poor countries are hit the worst by soaring food prices. In a number of countries, price hikes have spurred public disturbances. 

But it is likely that the problem is turning into a headache for countries around the globe, including the United States, European nations and Japan. Rising prices for rice and wheat have convinced many Americans that they should get ready for the worst, and consumers rushed to stores to buy large quantities of food, NTV Russia quoted New York Sun as saying. The demand has risen so high that sellers in California have begun to introduce restrictions, such as selling no more than one sack of rice per consumer. In the Silicon Valley, where many people of Asian descent work, only one type of rice is left on the shelves instead of the usual five types. On the West coast, news have come out about a restriction on the sale of flour and vegetable oil, and some in the U.S. are even talking about introducing special food cards. 

It wouldn't be so bad if only the U.S. were affected. There have been calls the world over for joining effort in preventing widespread famine, which could affect over 100 million people, according to some estimates. According to the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), this is the number of people in the world who spend over 80 per cent of their income on food. 

WFP's Executive Director Josette Shiran has compared the world food crisis to a gigantic tsunami in the Indian Ocean, which claimed 250,000 lives and rendered 10 million people bankrupt. 

"Famine is putting on a new face, as millions of people who were not categorized as starving just half a year ago, are now deemed as such," she told a summit at the British prime minister's residence on Downing Street. 

Shiran also said one of the reasons for soaring food prices is the use of extensive arable land for the production of biological fuels. She said the European Union program which envisions turning 10 per cent of the entire bulk of fuel available in Europe into biological fuel by 2020 may trigger famine in under-developed countries. 

"If Europe cares about the environment, it will have to spend hefty funds on poverty reduction in poor countries," she said. 

Shiran called for providing aid in the same volume as it was rendered to the victims of the 2004 tsunami. As many as 6 billion pounds is needed for the purpose. 

Britain has already announced it would allot a package worth 455 million pounds. London also called a halt to its activities on supporting the use of biological fuels, saying it would revisit technologies. South American leaders have also warned against the impact of production of such fuels on food supply. 

But analysts from the International Institute for Research on Food Policy argued that production of biological fuels with the use of grain has had insignificant impact on price hikes. Only 25 per cent of additional grain reserves were used for these activities from 2000 to 2007, they say. 

But in any case, it is beyond a doubt that the food crisis has raised utter concern around the world. The leaders of the world's industrialized nations intend to discuss the issue at a G8 summit in July. The initiative has been supported by the UN secretary-general. He is wary that soaring food prices could dampen progress in the efforts on resolving one of the UN's key objectives -- halving poverty by 2015. 

It is obvious that having challenged the "new millennium" under the UN auspices, the world has drastically changed in the past years, and the number of the destitute has been continuously dwindling. But now, with the threat of famine looming, will everything have to be started from a scratch?