Global Prices Market Speculators need to be made accountable and transparent.
Very few well connected people are challenging the existence of Billions without any accountability.
We need to organize all over the world and demand our politicians and representatives to bring the whole Speculators industry under Global Management.
We need regulations, standards of practice and most of all some level of accountability each time a price of food, oil, commodities and homes go up the roof.
We need Global Price Watch Groups, some thing like the Group of Eight may be. The United Nations Security Council should form another Price Security Council.
All the same, here in the US we have to demand some attention from the Obama and McCain Group, the same in Russia, EU, ASEAN, African Union, etc. We cannt watch a fifth (over a Billion people) of the world population disappear just for incompetence and greed of few well connected criminals.
Kindly share your alternative ideas.
Thank you.
Dr B
Belai Habte-Jesus, MD, MPHGlobal Strategic Enterprises, Inc. 4 Peace & ProsperityWin-win synergestic Partnership 4P&P-focusing on 5Es: Education+Energy+Ecology+Economy+Enterpriseswww.Globalbelai4u.blogspot.com; Globalbelai@yahoo.com C: 703.933.8737; F: 703.531.0545
--- On Wed, 8/13/08, Asratie Teferra
From: Asratie Teferra
Subject: Re: The Billion World Poor could starve due to Market Price escalation..reports World Bank
Thank you for this info. Ethiopia is resource rich but has been in perpetual starvation mode for many decades. I was an ICRC employee 23 years a go and had met the Band Aid folks in Korem and several world missions. Three years a go I joined the one movement and held several Live 8 parties, fair trade campaigns etc…but nothing has changed since then.
There is no excuse for drought and famine in Ethiopia. The annual rainfall in the country is enough to support the needs of the people if there is a comprehensive plan to harvest the water. I used to work in Ogaden during the late 80s and a good rainfall comes once in three years that changes the landscape to a heavenly green but there is no water collection mechanism to prolong the life of the water.
Yes the government can not do everything by itself, but it needs to have a major national campaign to get out of the cycle of food shortage. If that means changing the current land policy it should be entertained too. . Let us not forget that Ethiopia has 8 long rivers feeding the Nile and feeding Egyptians. I am not an Agronomist but do know Ethiopia is fertile but only 10 percent of the arable land is cultivated. What is the excuse?
Perhaps, this group could take it one step further and start honest dialogues among ourselves and perhaps to help the people. If you are interested please check the recent achievements made in Malawi (http://allafrica.com/stories/200807211020.html) In less than 5 years, Malawi fed its people and is now an exporter because the they got tired of begging. Of course they have their bad years but on the right track to self sufficiency. I will do more research on Malawi and share it as time permits.
When will Ethiopia get tired of begging? Are you not surprised why the coffee, flower, and chat cultivation are not affected. Why can't we grow grains then? Does anyone know Alamaya? When I was a relief worker in late 80's and early 90' there was a beautiful lake. It is a dry land and small swamp left of it now. Don't get me started Dr. Belai.
Thanks,
On 8/13/08, Demissie Assegid
True, the global price fluctuation is having an impact on all nations, particularly poorest nations such as Ethiopia. Ethiopia, a country that has chronic food shortage for more than a century will inevitably suffer a lot more. The government cannot handle such enormous problem without external aids.
On Wed, 13/8/08, Belai FM Habte-Jesus
From: Belai FM Habte-Jesus
Subject: Re: The Billion World Poor could starve due to Market Price escalation..reports World Bank
Global Price fluctuations are going to be the main cause of serious potential food insecurity and starvation for over Billioon Poor People around the globe. We need to address the challenges of the Global Market Speculators who negatively impact food, energy and commodity prices around the globe. Global Citizens Forum to address such global issues is critical and hope you will be involved. with regards Dr B Wednesday, August 13, 2008
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Today's Headlines:
Food Prices: Millions Could Starve as Fertiliser Prices Soar, Says UN: World's Poorest Farmers Hardest Hit by Crisis Cost Could Remain High for Three Years, Warns Report
Opec Pushes Output to Record Level
Kuwait Donates 80 Mln Dlrs to Aid Palestinians: World Bank
Prince Charles Warns GM Crops Risk Causing the Biggest-ever Environmental Disaster
Growth in China Clothing Exports Continues To Slow
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Food Prices: Millions Could Starve as Fertiliser Prices Soar, Says UN: World's Poorest Farmers Hardest Hit by Crisis; Cost Could Remain High for Three Years, Warns Report
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"A global fertiliser crisis is reducing the harvests of the world's poorest farmers and could lead to millions more people going hungry, according to the UN and global food analysts.
Hopes that soaring food commodity prices could lift millions of developing country farmers out of poverty and lead to more food being grown have been dashed, says the UN. A world fertiliser forecast report, due to be published by the UN this week but seen by The Guardian, states that prices will remain high for at least three years and possibly longer. Prices have mostly doubled and in some cases risen by 500 percent in 15 months as US farmers have rushed to plant more biofuel crops and countries such as India and China have bought fertiliser in large quantities to guarantee food stocks. ...
Fertiliser prices have risen more than oil or any other commodities in the past 18 months. Of the three main types, diammonium phosphate (DAP) sold for $250 a ton in January 2007 but has risen to $1,230. Potash-based fertilisers have risen from $172 to more than $500 a ton, and nitrogen-based fertilisers have risen from $277 to more than $450 a ton. Much of the price rise is attributed to farmers in the developed world who have applied high levels of fertilisers to maximise harvests of grain to take advantage of record grain prices, said Balu Bumb, policy leader at the International Centre for Soil Fertility and Agricultural Development in the US. The UN fertiliser forecast blames capacity constraints for the price rises. 'Strong global demand for fertilisers is stretching current production capacity to its technical limits. This situation will persist until new capacity comes on line,' it states. ..." [The Guardian (UK)/Factiva]
Meanwhile, WSJ writes that "The US Agriculture Department Tuesday predicted that the world's farmers will produce record amounts of wheat and oilseeds this year. Based on Aug. 1 conditions, US farmers are expected to harvest 12.3 billion bushels of corn, which would be their second-largest crop ever, trailing only last year's 13.1 billion-bushel harvest. But global demand for grain is rising so quickly that even bumper harvests can't puncture the two-year-old grain-price rally that has been inflating retail food prices. USDA economists expect the season average price of the new corn crop, which will be harvested in a few months, to hover around $5.40 a bushel, give or take 50 cents. While corn-futures prices have cooled from the $7 level that was hit in June -- when flooding sparked fears of widespread crop damage -- the USDA price forecast means that food executives and livestock producers can expect to pay twice as much for corn in the foreseeable future as they did for much of the previous decade. ..." [The Wall Street Journal/Factiva]
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Opec Pushes Output to Record Level
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"Opec pushed its oil production to the highest level in its 48-year history last month, even as demand was slipping in the US and Europe, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said yesterday.
The combination of surplus supply and weaker demand has pushed oil prices to $113.50 a barrel, down 24 percent in the last month and the lowest level since late April. The effort was led by Saudi Arabia, which had come under increasing pressure for doing too little to compensate for lower supplies from countries outside Opec, where growth has been lacklustre as fields have aged in countries such as the UK and Mexico. In mid-June, as oil inventories were running low, King Abdullah called a high-level international meeting in Jeddah and pledged to help reduce record prices by increasing Saudi production from 9.4m barrels a day to 9.7m b/d, the highest level in 30 years. ..." [The Financial Times (UK)/Factiva]
AP reports that "... The IEA cautioned that it is too early to determine whether the recent fall in oil prices is a longer-term trend. It said demand in developing countries could offset declines in developed nations, and that it sees Chinese oil demand continuing to grow at a robust pace. But the energy markets -- which have seen heavy liquidation from large speculative funds since crude hit its record high -- continued to make the bet that energy use is on the wane. ..." [The Associated Press/Factiva]
WSJ writes that "... China is the world's second biggest consumer but uses just about one-third the amount of crude as the US. Consumption in the US is expected to fall 3.1 percent this year and 2 percent next year. The Paris-based agency, the energy watchdog to the world's big oil-consuming nations, expects global consumption this year to average 86.9 million barrels a day, 0.9 percent above last year." [The Wall Street Journal/Factiva]
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Kuwait Donates 80 Mln Dlrs to Aid Palestinians: World Bank
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"The World Bank said Tuesday that Kuwait has donated 80 million dollars to a trust fund in support of Palestinians, becoming the first Arab nation to contribute to the aid program.
Kuwait signed an agreement Monday allowing the transfer of $80 million to the World Bank-administered trust fund to support the ongoing Palestinian Reform and Development Program, the bank said. That contribution brings to $275 million the amount of transfers available from the trust fund and the linked World Bank funds, of which $148 million has already been disbursed.
The financial resources will provide "support for education, health care and other vital social services for the Palestinian people and for the economic reforms currently underway," the Bank said. The other contributors to date are Australia, Britain, Canada, Finland, France, Norway and Poland." [Agence France Presse/Factiva]
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Prince Charles Warns GM Crops Risk Causing the Biggest-ever Environmental Disaster
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"In his most outspoken intervention on the issue of GM food, the Prince said that multi-national companies were conducting an experiment with nature which had gone 'seriously wrong'.
The Prince, in an exclusive interview with The Daily Telegraph, also expressed the fear that food would run out because of the damage being wreaked on the earth's soil by scientists' research. ... 'What we should be talking about is food security not food production - that is what matters and that is what people will not understand. ...
The Prince of Wales's forthright comments will reopen the whole debate about GM food. They will put him on a collision course with the international scientific community and Downing Street - which has allowed 54 GM crop trials in Britain since 2000. His intervention comes at a critical time. There is intense pressure for more GM products, not fewer, because of soaring food costs and widespread shortages. ...
In the interview the Prince, who has an organic farm on his Highgrove estate, held out the hope of the British agricultural system encouraging more and more family run co-operative farms. ... The Prince of Wales cited the widespread environmental damage in India caused by the rush to mass produce GM food. 'Look at India's Green Revolution. It worked for a short time but now the price is being paid. ..." [The Daily Telegraph (UK)/Factiva]
AFP adds that "... His comments come amid rising concerns worldwide over rapidly rising food prices -- the World Bank estimates that food prices have almost doubled over the past three years, and its president Robert Zoellick has said two billion people are affected by the food crisis. The prince insisted he did not want to turn back the clock, telling the newspaper: 'It's not going backwards. It is actually recognising that we are with nature, not against it. We have gone working against nature for too long.'" [Agence France Presse/Factiva]
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Growth in China Clothing Exports Continues To Slow
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"China's textile industry, after surging to domination of world markets, is losing its competitive advantage and some low-end operations are moving to emerging producers, a leading Chinese textile mill official said.
Rapid expansion of textile investment in many developing countries in the last two years was producing oversupply and sparking fears over earnings and the survival of many mills in Asia, said Leo Yung, director of Central Textiles (HK) Ltd.
'Currently China is rapidly losing competitive advantage in costs to other Asian countries such as Bangladesh, Vietnam and India,' Yung told the Australian Cotton Conference on Wednesday.
Many mills had been forced to switch from exports to domestic sales, which now account for 79 percent of production, he said.
This followed recent years of 'drastic and significant' migration of textile production from the United States, Europe and Japan to developing countries such as China, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh." [Reuters News/Factiva (08/13/2008)]
"The loss in competitiveness is attributed to several factors, including the downturn of the U.S. market, regulations on Chinese producers, labor costs, and the strengthening of the Chinese currency versus the U.S. dollar, according to Is China Losing its Competitive Edge in Textiles and Clothing, a report prepared by Robin Anson, the editorial director for Textile Outlook International." [Inside U.S. Trade (08/08/2008)]
Xinhua adds "...China recently increased the tax rebate to 13 percent for textile and clothing exports to bail out its more than 60,000 struggling smaller textile enterprises.
Zhang Bin, a Guojin Securities analyst, said the effects of the new tax rebate policy would likely take hold in October. It was expected to help reduce costs and increase the profit margins of textile and clothing exporters. [China View/Xinhua (08/12/2008)]
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Also in This Edition... Briefly Noted...
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Nigeria will finally hand over the oil-rich Bakassi peninsula to Cameroon on Thursday, putting an end to a decades-old dispute that brought the two countries to the brink of war. Security is expected to be tight for the formal flag-exchanging ceremony in Bakassi, a peninsula of mangrove islands in the Gulf of Guinea, due to threats of attacks from local armed groups opposed to the transfer. [Reuters/Factiva]
Trade unions in Zimbabwe's neighbouring countries have agreed to ratchet up the pressure on Robert Mugabe's regime by staging a one-week boycott of all goods bound for the poverty-stricken country. [The Financial Times/Factiva]
The Tanzania government could re-posses all non-performing privatised public firms. According to a senior official from the Consolidated Holding Corporation (CHC), it has been established that some of the privatised firms "were not doing well and while others were vandalized and abandoned." CHC has the mandate of finalising the divestiture of remaining public firms and monitoring and evaluation of the performance of those already privatised. [East African Business Week/All Africa/Factiva]
Mozambique will resume coal exports in 2010 after reconstructing a 665 km railroad from the Moatize coal fields to the harbour in the central port city of Beira, a top official said on Tuesday. National Director of Mines, Fatima Momade told Reuters the Sena railroad, whose rehabilitation began in 2002, would be completed by that time. The repairs are being carried out by Indian consortium Right and Icon, which has a 51 percent stake in the group, while Mozambique's Ports and Railways Company (CFM) holds the remaining 49 percent shareholding. [The Guardian/Factiva]
China's central government has moved to retrieve all reusable disaster relief items in order to stockpile materials for future emergencies. The government issued provisional regulations making local governments responsible for the collection and management of goods, warning the theft or wasteful disposal of items would incur punishment. [Xinhua/Factiva]
Venezuelan Agriculture Minister Elias Jaua said on Tuesday his oil-rich country would give $2 million grants to 18 Caribbean and Central American countries to buy fertilizer for the coming growing season. The grants are part of a Venezuelan-led program to form a multinational company among the so-called PetroCaribe group of nations to produce and distribute food. [Reuters/Factiva]
Delivering another potential blow to Argentina's beleaguered bond market, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services announced Monday a downgrade in the country's sovereign credit ratings. In a statement, S&P said it had lowered its foreign and local currency long-term credit ratings on Argentina to 'B' - one notch deeper in speculative territory - from 'B+.' The cut puts the sovereign's rating just two notches above the "highly speculative" grade ratings in the "C" category. [Dow Jones/Factiva]
The state of Minas Gerais will receive today a $1 billion loan from the World Bank (IBRD) to support infrastructure projects, education, health and the environment. The loan agreement will be signed by Governor Aecio Neves and the WB's Director for Brazil, John Briscoe. This is the IBRD's largest unrequited credit operation ever with a Brazilian state in terms of volume. [Gazeta Mercantil (Brazil)/Factiva]
China and Australia believe it is still possible to conclude the Doha Round of world trade talks this year, Australian Trade Minister Simon Crean said Wednesday. The Chinese "still see it as possible, as do we, and as do many of the other players," Crean told Dow Jones Newswires, after meeting Commerce Minister Chen Deming in Beijing on Monday. [Dow Jones/Factiva]
Belai Habte-Jesus, MD, MPHGlobal Strategic Enterprises, Inc. 4 Peace & ProsperityWin-win synergestic Partnership 4P&P-focusing on 5Es: Education+Energy+Ecology+Economy+Enterpriseswww.Globalbelai4u.blogspot.com; Globalbelai@yahoo.com C: 703.933.8737; F: 703.531.0545
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