According to September issue report, Page said government hoarding was the biggest contributor to the rise in prices.
“Ill-timed, ill-planned and really a beggar-thy-neighbor strategy,” Page said of moves by Russia and others to ban grain exports as droughts and floods helped send stockpiles to their lowest levels in two generations.
Page warned that further disruptions might ratchet up costs so much that governments would jump in with more regulations — not only on grain shipments but also on energy, trade and financial markets. Such moves could discourage investing in agriculture and hurt the poor.
