The issues of food and health, the environment and food inflation formed the core themes of the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) President’s speech at the recent FDF President’s Dinner held at the Waldorf Hotel in London. Iain Ferguson, the President of the FDF, highlighted the ongoing challenges currently facing the food and drink manufacturing sector particularly: food labelling, reformulation, environmental best practice, and the new demands put on our food supply. With regard... ...Read more »
The Reserve Bank of Australia have left the cash rate unchanged at 7.25% despite inflation being at decade highs. The RBA Board made the decision at their monthly meeting, which was held in Sydney this morning. Inflation pressure has been rising steadily and is now well above the target level of 2-3%; with March data revealing inflation of 4.2%. However, the rising food, fuel and finance costs globally have obviously concerned the RBA and, with much of the inflationary pressure external... ...Read more »
The Reserve Bank of Australia is now more likely to consider raising interest rates again in May following the release of inflation data for the March quarter. CPI rose 1.3% in the quarter, resulting in a CPI figure for the year to the March quarter of 4.2%. The figure was higher than analyst forecasts of 4% and markedly above the 2-3% level which the RBA targets, indicating that rates could rise next month. Education and health prices were the biggest contributors to the high quarterly... ...Read more »
As the price of food continues to rise protests have been becoming more prevalent. While few major protests have been held so far there is growing concern that continued rises will cause greater social unrest and political leaders in many Asian countries, particularly Myanmar, Thailand, China and the Philippines, are under immense pressure. In Argentina, where the urban population is significantly greater than the rural population, the Government sought to increase tariffs on grain exporters to try... ...Read more »