Environment Food and Rural Affairs written question – answered at on 1 November 2011.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment her Department has made of the contribution of market speculation to food price volatility in 2007-08.
The report “The 2007/08 Agricultural Price Spikes: Causes and Policy Implications”, published by HMG in January 2010, reviewed various potential mechanisms whereby speculation might have distorted markets. It concluded that there was no conclusive evidence that speculation leads to higher or more volatile prices, although we do know that some factors like export bans, stock levels, energy prices and damaged harvests certainly can put pressure on prices.
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G20 Agriculture Ministers welcomed the steps which Finance Ministers are taking to ensure appropriate and transparent regulation of financial markets.
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