UN appeals: Don't limit food exports

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations 26th called on governments not to limit food exports in the run-up to higher food prices, warning that it could push up global food prices.　　Negative results FAO updated the day with policy guidelines for countries and regions affected by high food prices, advising governments to carefully consider responses when prices rise.　　Richard Hina, head of FAO Policy and planning support, said in a statement that past experience has shown that "in some cases, hasty measures by Governments to eliminate the effects of the food price crisis have in fact widened the scale of the crisis and exacerbated the impact of the crisis on food security". Rice prices rose sharply in 2008 as major rice producers such as Thailand, Vietnam and India restricted exports to protect domestic supplies.　　China said in a statement that restrictions on food exports will worsen the international food market, "FAO strongly recommends not to take such measures."　　According to the statement, restrictions on food exports will have some "serious negative consequences", in disrupting the international food market, further pushing up the world's food prices, while reducing domestic price, thus affecting the enthusiasm of farmers to increase production. Warning of a severe drought, and other factors, the Russian government last year issued a ban on grain exports, and the same as the food exporters of Ukraine limited grain exports.　　The two countries ' measures have pushed up wheat prices in the international market sharply.　　Last December, the FAO Agricultural Commodities price index hit a record high. FAO is of the view that African countries, which are almost all net grain importers, face greater risks than countries in other regions.　　In addition, urban residents, fishermen, pastoralists and others are most affected by the rise in food prices, because they are often unable to produce enough of their own food. In recent times, some governments have taken steps to cope with rising food prices.　　Countries such as Algeria, Bangladesh and Lebanon have been bidding to buy wheat last week, while countries such as Libya and Morocco have tried to encourage food imports by means of lower tariffs. According to local conditions, FAO said in its policy guide that there is no unified solution to the rise in food prices.　　This means that successful practices in one country may not apply to other countries.　　FAO believes that policies and specific programmes formulated by Governments should be tailored to their national circumstances.　　China that, in the long run, only by increasing agricultural investment can developing countries ensure that food production continues to rise, increase the "resistance" to international price fluctuations, and thus improve food security.　　FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf said countries should cooperate in measures to tighten regulation of food markets to curb food prices. In the view of Diouf, it is necessary to introduce measures to increase the regulation and transparency of agricultural futures markets in order to deal with speculative activities. He also criticized the trade barriers in developed countries for distorting food supply and demand balance.