IKD Seminar: Financial speculation and a global food crisis: A price not a supply crisis

MS Teams

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has announced a global food crisis with those living in acute food insecurity reaching a record 349 million people in 2022. In the UK, a cost-of-living crisis has thrown many into poverty with inflation rates reaching double digits for the first time in 40 years. The main driver behind rising hunger, food insecurity and poverty is a steep increase in the prices of food and fuel commodities. Ongoing disruptions in supply chains since the Covid-19 crisis and the war in Ukraine are routinely blamed for food shortages and high prices. However, there is no shortage of food globally. In contrast to the common narrative, I argue that financial speculation is the main driver of the food price surge. The world is facing a food price, not a food supply crisis. The consequences can be equally severe, but policy solutions differ.

Bio

Sophie van Huellen is a Lecturer in Development Economics with the Global Development Institute (GDI) at the University of Manchester and a Research Associate with the Economics Department at SOAS University of London. Her research focuses on primary commodity markets, commodity chains and commodity dependence, financialisation and financial speculation, and macro-financial linkages. She obtained a BA in Economics, Politics and Philosophy from the University of Erfurt, Germany and was further trained in economics (MSc and PhD) at SOAS University of London.