U.S., France, Mexico to hold phone conference to discuss need for emergency meeting on U.S. drought, food security

"France, the United States and G20 president Mexico will hold a conference call at the end of August to discuss whether an emergency international meeting is required to tackle soaring grain prices caused by the worst U.S. drought in half a century," Reuters reports. "A French agriculture ministry official said the call would decide whether to convene the first meeting of the G20's Rapid Response Forum," according to the news service, which notes, "The body was created last year to promote early discussion among decision-makers about abnormal market conditions with the aim of avoiding unilateral action" (Trompiz, 8/13). "The World Bank is already on alert for an increase in hunger and malnutrition," the Guardian's "Economics" blog writes, adding that "previous spikes in food prices also led to widespread social unrest." According to the blog, "[p]opulation growth and rising incomes in the bigger emerging market economies -- China, India and Brazil -- was already a cause for concern even before the U.S. drought, but the price spike in recent weeks has underlined the growing pressures on the global supply chain" (Elliott, 8/13).