Sean O’Grady has this analysis piece in the Independent looking at a new report from the UN about the risks of a major spike in world food prices in 2011 and perhaps beyond. This is the time of the year when I tend to teach commodity prices in AS micro - this new report is pessimistic but it allows me to link the micro causes of higher food prices with the many macroeconomic effects around the world.

According to the FAO “Food import bills for the world’s poorest countries are predicted to rise 11 percent in 2010 and by 20 percent for low-income food-deficit countries. This means, by passing a trillion dollars, the global import food bill will likely rise to a level not seen since food prices peaked at record levels in 2008.”

More here

And some good background from this BBC news video from a few weeks back