Two NGOs warn against trade in hunger and speculation in wheat

Two NGOs, Food Watch and CCFD Ter Solidere, have called for regulation of agricultural markets to combat speculation that is “exacerbating rising food prices,” in a joint statement released yesterday. Both organizations indicated that “panic reigns in the agricultural and food markets for two reasons: on the one hand, companies and traders fear a shortage of wheat, vegetable oils and phosphate fertilizers from the Black Sea region, and on the other hand, financial bets on rising prices for basic commodities exacerbate rising food prices.” They stressed that “two large agricultural investment funds have already paid out almost $1.2 billion in 2022, six times more than in all of 2021, and called for strict control of food speculation as the G7 summit approaches in the coming period.” until June 28 in Germany. “G7 member states must take strict measures to prevent these beneficiaries of the famine from continuing,” Jean-Francois Dubos, spokesman for the CCF de Ter Solidere, said in a statement. “Investors in the stock market are getting richer by betting on corn and wheat, while people in countries like Yemen or Ethiopia can no longer buy basic food,” said Karen Jacquemart, head of Food Watch France. These bets must stop at the expense of the majority of the poor.” The two NGOs have written directly to G7 members asking them to “impose strict restrictions on food speculation” in the markets, with “position limits” indicating the number, number and size of contracts investors are allowed to enter into for certain commodities. .