Seafood is potentially likely to become a luxury that many Australians cannot afford, according to principal research scientist at the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) Dr Mike Hall. According to a statement attributed to Dr Hall in the Weekend Australian this week, Australia will face a seafood supply shortage in twenty years if overseas demand for seafood continues to grow. Currently, Australians consume about 422,000 metric tonnes of seafood each year according to Dr Hall, but more... ...Read more »

A major international report has predicted that average food commodity prices will be much higher this decade than the last. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) and the Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO) have projected maize costs will be almost 20% higher this decade on average, and rice more than 15% higher. It also predicts that butter prices will soar worldwide and stay high, rising more than 45%, with poultry prices increasing 30% to 35%. Wheat prices are... ...Read more »

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development has called for emerging market governments to act against rising obesity levels to avoid rivalling rates in the West. The Paris-based think-tank has released analysis in the medical journal The Lancet that claims obesity levels in Brazil, China, India, Mexico, Russia and South Africa are rising. It says: “Unhealthy diets and physical inactivity are pushing obesity rates rapidly toward those seen in [developed world] countries, where... ...Read more »

While the latest OECD figures show food inflation has risen about 40 per cent in Australia over the past decade, Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) Chief Executive Kate Carnell highlighted that food has actually become more affordable for most Australian families due to average wage rises. The latest ABS figures (May 2009) show average weekly earnings for men and women in Australia have risen by more than 50 per cent over the past 10 years with figures showing total weekly earnings rose from... ...Read more »

New OECD price data has shown Australia to have the highest rate of food inflation since 2000, although it has begun to moderate over the past year. The data shows Australian food prices have risen by 41.3 per cent, higher than the other 29 nations in the survey. However, based on comparisons to 2006 figures, Australia has seen the seventh highest rate of food inflation in the OECD – behind Hungary, Iceland, Mexico, New Zealand, Turkey and the UK. Indeed, the global financial crisis has helped... ...Read more »

Agricultural commodity prices should ease from recent record peaks but over the next 10 years they are expected to average well above their mean levels of the past decade, according to the latest Agricultural Outlook from OECD and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). OECD Secretary-General, Angel Gurría, is pleading for the breaking down of trade barriers with restrictive trade practices likely to cause greater distress. “The way to address rising food prices is not through protectionism... ...Read more »