The French and Brazilian governments have forged an unusual European-emerging market alliance, calling for increased co-ordination among G20 states during food supply crises, and tighter regulation of the global food market.
They issued a joint communiqué on Thursday (14 October) calling for the creation of global and regional food stocks, close monitoring of global cereal stocks especially, greater regulation of food market derivatives, and the creation of financial mechanisms (including price guarantees) to protect food producers from excessive price fluctuations. These actions would “reduce food price instability and boost food security”, said the joint note.
This detailed initiative comes as France prepares to assume the presidency next month of the increasingly influential G20 group. Its president, Nicolas Sarkozy, has said fighting speculation on commodities’ markets will be a priority of the French one-year presidency and he wants to deter unilateral reactions to food supply crises.
