World Bank2014-06-122014-06-122014-01https://hdl.handle.net/10986/18639Yet the current situation differs from 2007-2008 in critical respects. First, recent international price increases are more widespread across agricultural commodities than in 2008, when price spikes were led by few grains such as wheat and rice. Second, natural resources are affecting food production: land and water constraints are more binding than in the past and weather induced production shortfalls are more of a factor now than it was 2008. Climate change also adds to this uncertainty, particularly since a larger share of grain exports are being produced in areas more exposed to climate variability. Third, long term structural changes in the markets are more clearly a major factor this time, as demand for feed and income-elastic foods under sustained and widespread income growth in emerging countries is increasing steadily. Fourth, the global stocks/use ratio for major cereals, which used to hover in the range of 30-35 percent in the 1980s and 1990s, has been around 20 percent after 2003 due largely to long-term policy changes in high-income countries; and stocks of some critical players are now at all-time lows. Global markets are currently experiencing the second sharp spike in food prices in the last four years. While no one has a crystal ball to predict with confidence the future prices of food products, there are good reasons to believe that structural factors affecting both supply and demand, discussed in this report, have recently evolved in ways that will increase the average levels and volatility of prices above those of recent decades. Ensuring that the world's populations, and particularly vulnerable groups, are adequately fed is one of the most important contributions of the World Bank to the global public good's agenda. This report describes how the current situation is affecting countries in the Latin America and Caribbean region, including the impact on different groups within countries, and proposes strategies to best assist our client countries in responding.Hoy en día vivimos en un mundo donde los precios de los alimentos son más elevados y más volátiles, y es probable que esta tendencia se mantenga. En este contexto, el presente informe discute el impacto de esta tendencia en los hogares más vulnerables y qué acciones urgentes de corto plazo pueden llevar a cabo los países para mitigar un impacto poten¬cialmente serio en los que más riesgos corren. También discute el potencial de América Latina y el Caribe para aprovechar el elevado precio de sus exportaciones, a la vez que ayuda a evitar una futura crisis alimentaria mundial, y qué medidas serán necesarias para convertir en realidad este potencial y reducir el impacto de los precios altos en los consumidores de la región. El informe se estructura en cuatro secciones: la Introducción evalúa los acontecimientos más recientes en los mercados mundiales. La Sección II describe los diferentes impactos macro y micro del alza en el precio de los alimentos. La Sección III plantea aquello que sabemos sobre los efectos en la población de los precios de los alimentos más elevados y volátiles, y propone estrategias efectivas para responder a corto y largo plazo. También discute el potencial de ALC para aprovechar la producción de alimentos y una mejor distribución de los mismos. Para finalizar, la Sección IV indica cómo el Banco Mundial puede ayudar a sus miembros a implementar estas estrategias.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOACCESS TO FOODACCESSIBILITYAGRICULTURAL COMMODITIESAGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENTAGRICULTURAL INNOVATIONAGRICULTURAL OUTPUTAGRICULTURAL POLICIESAGRICULTURAL POLICYAGRICULTURAL PRICESAGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIONAGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITYAGRICULTURAL RESEARCHAGRICULTURAL RESEARCH EXPENDITURESAGRICULTURAL SECTORAGRICULTURAL SECTORSAGRICULTURAL SUPPORTAGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGYAGRICULTUREANDEAN REGIONAUCTIONAVERAGE TRAVEL SPEEDSBANANASBASIC FOOD BASKETBEEFBORDER CROSSINGSBOTTLENECKSCALORIC INTAKECARIBBEAN REGIONCASH TRANSFER PROGRAMSCASH TRANSFERSCEREALSCHRONIC POVERTYCHRONICALLY POORCLIMATE CHANGECOLD CHAINCOMMODITY PRICECOMMODITY PRICESCOMPETITIVENESSCONSUMER PRICECONSUMER PRICE INDEXCONSUMER PRICESCONSUMPTION BASKETCONSUMPTION DATACOPING BEHAVIORSCOPING MECHANISMSCORNCOST-EFFECTIVENESSCROP VARIETIESCROP YIELDSCROSSINGDECLINE IN POVERTYDEVELOPING REGIONSDIETARY DIVERSITYDIRECT BENEFICIARIESDOMESTIC MARKETSDOMESTIC PRICESDOMESTIC TRANSPORTDRIVERSDRIVINGECOLOGICAL ZONESECONOMIC SHOCKSECONOMIES OF SCALEEXPENDITUREEXTREME POVERTYEXTREME POVERTY LINEFAIRFAMILIES WITH CHILDRENFARMERSFARMLANDFINANCIAL MARKETSFOOD CONSUMPTIONFOOD CONSUMPTION PATTERNSFOOD DISTRIBUTIONFOOD FIT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTIONFOOD FOR WORKFOOD MARKETSFOOD PRICEFOOD PRICESFOOD PRODUCERSFOOD PRODUCTIONFOOD PRODUCTSFOOD RESERVESFOOD SECURITYFOOD TRANSPORTFOODSFOODSTUFFFREIGHTFREIGHT COSTSFRUITSFUELFUEL PRICEFUEL PRICESFUELSGLOBAL FOOD SUPPLYGRAINSGREENHOUSE GASGREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONSHIGH TRANSPORTHOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTIONHOUSEHOLD SURVEYHOUSEHOLD WELFAREHUMAN CAPITALHUMAN DEVELOPMENTHYDROCARBONSIFPRIINCOMEINCOME GAINSINCOME GROWTHINCOME ON FOODINCOME POVERTYINCOME TAXINEQUALITYINFLATIONINSTITUTIONAL CAPACITYINVENTORIESLABOR MARKETLACK OF INFRASTRUCTURELAND AVAILABILITYLAND USEMAIZEMALNUTRITIONMARKET DEVELOPMENTSMARKET INTEGRATIONMARKET SHAREMARKETPLACEMICRONUTRIENT DEFICIENCIESMILKMILLSMODES OF TRANSPORTNUTRITIONORANGESPACKINGPALM OILPIG MEATPOLITICAL ECONOMYPOOR FAMILIESPOOR HOUSEHOLDSPOOR PEOPLEPOOR PERSONPOPULATION DENSITYPORT INFRASTRUCTUREPORT OF ENTRYPOST-HARVEST INFRASTRUCTUREPOST-HARVEST LOSSESPOVERTY ALLEVIATIONPOVERTY GAPPOVERTY IMPACTPOVERTY INDEXPOVERTY LEVELSPOVERTY LINESPOVERTY RATEPOVERTY REDUCTIONPRICE INCREASEPRICE INCREASESPRICE LEVELSPRICE RISKPRICE STABILITYPRICE SUPPORTSPRICE VOLATILITYPRODUCTION TECHNOLOGYPROPERTY RIGHTSPUBLIC PARTNERSHIPSPUBLIC SPENDINGPURCHASINGRAILREGIONAL DISPARITIESREGIONAL FOODREGIONAL IMPACTSREGIONAL INTEGRATIONREGIONAL LEVELRICERISK MANAGEMENTROADROAD CONDITIONSROAD INFRASTRUCTUREROADSROUTERURALRURAL AREASRURAL DEVELOPMENTRURAL POORRURAL POVERTYRURAL PUBLICSAFETYSAFETY NETSAFETY NET PROGRAMSSAFETY NET SYSTEMSSAFETY NETSSANITATIONSCHOOL FEEDINGSCHOOLINGSHORT-SEA SHIPPINGSILAGESOCIAL ASSISTANCESOCIAL IMPACTSSOCIAL PROGRAMSSOCIAL PROTECTIONSOYBEANSOYBEANSSTOCKSSTORAGE FACILITIESSTRUCTURAL REFORMSSUB-REGIONSUB-REGIONSSUBSISTENCESUBSTITUTESUGARSUPPLIERSUPPLY CHAINSUPPLY CHAINSTARGETINGTAXTECHNICAL ASSISTANCETRANSFER PROGRAMSTRANSPARENCYTRANSPORT COSTSTRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURETRANSPORT SERVICETRANSPORT SERVICE PROVIDERSTRANSPORTATIONTRANSPORTATION COSTSTRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURETRAVEL TIMETRIPTRUCKSURBANIZED REGIONVEGETABLESVEHICLESVOLATILITYVULNERABLE GROUPSVULNERABLE HOUSEHOLDSWEANING FOODSWELFARE MONITORINGWHEATWHEAT FLOUR10.1596/18639