Disturbing side to food costs

A hungry man is an angry man. It's an old saying everyone might as well heed now that more than half of the world's consumers are struggling with food shortages and high costs.

Prices of rice, the staple food for some three billion people on the planet, have recently soared, matching the steep price hikes in other key food items.

While the affluent in the Gulf may not feel the economic pangs gripping the impoverished, the issue is now a cause for global concern, and it has been difficult to ignore the fallout.

Last month, at least a dozen people were hurt in Ivory Coast as demonstrators demanded government action to curb rising food costs.

Similar unrests gripped the neighbouring rice consumers in Cameroon, Senegal and Burkina Faso, some of which turned violent and cost lives.

Riots and street pro-tests about food prices erupted recently in Haiti, Philippines, India, Bangladesh, Morocco, Egypt, Jordan and Yemen.

Thus, the rice shortage and price escalation are heightening tensions around the world.

The depth of the crisis and its potential impact have been highlighted by World Bank president Robert Zoellick, who earlier said that "33 countries around the world face potential social unrest because of the acute hike in food".

The Gulf countries appear insulated from the heat, but the growing discontent of the average consumer over the rising cost of living is now evident. The UAE itself has not been spared elements of consumer outrage. Just last month, hundreds of construction workers were involved in unrest relating to inflation and unpaid wages, during which they destroyed and burned property and vehicles.

Concern

Expatriates make up about 95 per cent of the UAE's workforce. Also, a lot of migrant workers are from rice-consuming countries in Asia. What is worth noting is that many of these expats are working in the construction sector, where wages (between Dh750 to Dh850) are so much smaller than the UAE'S average per capita income.

It remains to be seen how the rice-dependent, low-income earners on this side of the world will react if the scarcity and price hikes continue. But we do know that the Gulf does not produce rice.

Already, rice suppliers such as China, India, Egypt, Vietnam and Cambodia have imposed tariffs or export bans.

As food continues to become more expensive and prices rise beyond a certain point, people who are on the edge of survival may run out of money to cover their needs. That's when frustration kicks in and can easily turn to anger.

Indeed, the crisis requires a global response. No one country can deal with it alone. As the United Nations World Food Programme puts it, high food prices are its biggest challenge, "a silent tsunami threatening to plunge" more than 100 million consumers on every continent into hunger.

As food continuesto become more expensive andprices rise beyonda certain point, people who are on the edge of survival may run out of money to covertheir needs. That's when frustration kicks in and can easily turn to anger.