Brussels, 30/07/2012 (Agence Europe) - France is to call for a meeting to be convened of the Rapid Reaction Forum, a body, set up in June under the aegis of the G20, which brings together the main cereal producing countries. It has also contacted the Agricultural Market Information System which is based at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The reason is the jump in cereal prices, due notably to the drought which is affecting the United States, and, to a lesser extent, Russia.
Visiting the Gers department (France) this weekend, French President François Hollande called on his Agriculture Minister Stéphane Le Foll to refer the latter to the G20 bodies responsible for measuring price volatility for raw materials, notably cereals, the daily Les Echos reported in its edition of Monday 30 July. Hollande is reported as saying: “When there is a drought in the United States, the price of oilseed, raw materials and cereals rises. That leads to consequences for farmers here in France”. (MB/transl.rt)