Trade restrictions, not biofuels, are to blame for soaring world food
prices, top US and Brazilian agricultural officials have said.
Export restrictions in India, Vietnam and Argentina -- among the
world's top producers of rice, soy and wheat -- are reducing world
food supply and inflating prices around the globe, said Mark Keenum,
Undersecretary for Farm and Foreign Agriculture Services at the US
Department of Agriculture.
India and Vietnam have restricted most rice exports, while Argentina
has banned wheat and beef exports and imposed heavy export taxes on
soy.
Those moves have "inhibited the capacity of its producers to maximize
their income," pushing up food prices far more than demand for
biofuel, Keenan told reporters after meeting with agricultural
officials in Brasilia.
Increased production of sugarcane-based ethanol has not reduced
Brazilian bean, soy and corn output, as experts predicted, Brazilian
International agribusiness secretary Celio Porto agreed.
He urged nations to slash farm subsidies and tariffs to boost world
food production by giving smaller countries access to larger markets.
Brazil is the world's largest ethanol exporter, and last year signed
accords with the US to boost biofuel production and draft
international quality standards that would allow ethanol to be traded
as a commodity, as oil is.
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