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G20 preparation committee vice-chief Lee Chang-yong said Wednesday that the world leaders will discuss how to reduce volatility in food prices at the G20 Seoul Summit in November.
“The measures to lessen volatility in food prices was dealt with great importance not only at the Pittsburgh conference in the U.S. but also at the G20 summit in Toronto, Canada,” Lee told reporters at the G20 High-Level Development Conference held in central Seoul. “The issue will be discussed again at the Seoul summit.”
The former Financial Services Commission chairman elaborated, “We are focusing on how we would regulate the derivatives involving grains and control the markets relevant to food supplies.”
Lee added that for food security, a fund has been set up to support the infrastructure to improve agricultural productivity. World leaders will discuss in detail in Seoul how they are going to use the fund.
Kenny Dick, leader of the food security and agricultural team at the U.K. Department for International Development, said in his presentation that in order to stabilize food prices globally, countries should make efforts to ensure free trade of agricultural products.
Referring to protectionism, particularly some countries’ ban on food exports, Dick said that the Group of 20 member economies should make efforts to restrict such policies and improve the information system on the stocks of grains to boost efficiency in the market.
The British official also called for the need to insure the world’s poorest countries against crop failure and diseases in cattle.
The G20 Seoul Summit is likely to overflow with lots of thorny issues. The International Monetary Fund recently ended a general meeting without providing any solutions to the so-called “currency war” indicating tensions among the countries.
The world leaders are also expected to discuss core financial reform issues including bank capital, liquidity regulations and systemically important financial institutions.
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