The failure of the U.S. corn harvest may lead to a global food crisis

The failure of the U.S. corn harvest may lead to the outbreak of a global food crisis. The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) warns that crops in the United States, the world's largest corn producer, are affected by drought...

The failure of the U.S. corn harvest may lead to a global food crisis. The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) warns that the crops of the United States, the world's largest corn producer, are damaged by drought and may be about to trigger a global food crisis. Bloomberg News quoted IFPRI Director Shenggen Fan as saying that the government must take action to prevent the crisis, and the United States must stop the biomass fuel plan that uses 40% of the country's corn production to increase the supply of corn to the livestock industry. IFPRI, supported by governments and international organizations, is part of the United Nations' Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS), which monitors food prices. Fan Shenggen said: "The main issue is policy. The production of biomass fuel must be stopped, because this has pushed up global food prices and caused many poor people, especially women and children, to suffer. If we do not take urgent action, the crisis will break out again soon." Fan Shenggen said that countries such as India and China must release grain reserves to help the poor cope with rising food prices, and governments need to avoid imposing export bans to avoid a repeat of the 2008 global food crisis. December corn futures rose 0.9% to $7.99 per bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade on the 14th, and November soybean futures rose 0.5% to $16.0925 per bushel. Corn, used in everything from food, livestock feed to sweeteners, rose to a record high of $8.49 per bushel on the 10th; corn has surged 57% since June 15, pushing global food inflation tracked by the FAO to climb 6.2% in July from the previous month, the largest increase since November 2009. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the worst drought in the Midwest in half a century has reduced corn production and pushed up prices. The United States accounted for 36% of global corn production and 39% of global trade volume in 2011-2012. FAO Secretary-General Da Silva called on the U.S. government to suspend its ethanol production plan to allow more crops to be used for food and livestock feed. More than 180 members of the U.S. Congress have also called on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to lower domestic ethanol consumption regulations for this year and next year, or to suspend the measure.