(UPI) Rising food prices, which triggered the downfall of the Tunisian regime and rioting in Algeria, threaten further trouble across the Middle East and North Africa, a region heavily dependent on food imports. The food crisis along with mushrooming populations, expanding desertification, dwindling water resources and growing unemployment create an explosive mix. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization reported Jan. 5 that its worldwide food price index hit a record high in December, exceeding the 2008 peak. The FAO index was up 25% from the same period in 2009. The World Bank observed in a recent report that "Arab countries are very vulnerable to fluctuations in international commodity markets because they are heavily dependent on imported food. Arab countries are the largest importers of cereal in the world...and most import at least 50% of the food calories they consume." Arab states' population growth rates are among the highest in the world. The population of the Arab world was 73 million in 1950. Now it's more than 333 million, and the World Bank expects that to double by 2050 to around 600 million.
2011-01-21 08:21:43Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive