Food Prices Spike Worldwide (3/3)

"The margins have shrunk and they are shrinking fast, so if one country stumbles, you are going to feel the prices on the markets immediately."

Msangi, originally from Tanzania, has a set of policy recommendations for governments around the world: invest more in agriculture technology to boost crop yields, address climate change and environmental issues, improve water management, carefully consider the impact of biofuels on world food stocks, and resist the temptation to enact counter-productive measures to artificially lower food prices.

Msangi notes that leaders in Zimbabwe and Venezuela have recently ordered price controls in response to soaring food costs, and says the efforts are making a bad situation worse.

"That is a knee-jerk reaction that a lot of countries take, instead of producers getting the signal that prices are going up and that they should produce more, it actually works against some of the responses that you want the food system to undertake when it is faced with high prices."

How high will global food prices get? Msangi says no one knows for sure, but he fears they may rise even higher in coming years.

参考译文：

“全球食品产量的盈余已经在减小，而且减小的速度很快。所以，一旦一个国家出现粮食问题，你就会立刻感觉到市场上物价的变化。”

姆桑吉的祖籍是坦桑尼亚，他为世界各国政府提供一系列的政策建议：为提高农作物产量在农业技术方面进行更多的投资；处理气候变化和环境问题；改善水资源管理；慎重考虑生物燃料对世界粮食储备的影响；抵制有意实施不良的措施以人为降低食品价格

姆桑吉指出，津巴布韦和委内瑞拉的领导人最近下令控制物价以应对日益上涨的食品开销。这些措施使得情况更加糟糕。

“这是大多数国家会采取的本能反应，而不是给生产者一个信号告诉他们价格在涨，应该种更多的粮食，实际上这种反应与（公众的）一些回应相反，后者希望粮食系统承担面临高价的问题。

全球食品价格会涨到多高？姆桑吉说没人能说得清楚，但是他担心在未来几年内，价格可能会升的更高。

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