2024-03-21 15:55:59
In an interview with the Belgian radio station La Premiere, the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Olivier de Schutter, stated that the main culprits of the global food inflation are the financial players who try to take advantage of the situation as much as possible.
“Food inflation in the world market is due to the fact that some players are resorting to speculative actions to increase the price. The real reason for the inflation is not the insufficient amount of food, but the panic that reigns in the markets because no one knows when the conflict in Ukraine will end. And some financial players take advantage of that uncertainty, resorting to speculative steps, mechanically leading to inflation,” said the UN special rapporteur.
According to him, it is necessary to ensure a calm atmosphere in the markets, to make transparent the information about the food stocks.
“The bulk of food stocks are in the hands of a few private operators, large grain traders, who do not participate in the process of information sharing, and this is what the heads of state need to end the turbulent situation in the markets,” de Schutter said.
He also stated that 5-6 companies control 80 percent of global grain transactions, and they own most of the stocks, but they do not publish data, which causes speculation. the markets predict the increase in demand and take speculative steps, which explains the inflation of food in the world market.