India has suffered the worst drought in more than 30 years, and the local crops such as white rice, sugar and potatoes failed. Businessmen manipulated the market and grain prices soared. The poor complain bitterly, and some even eat only one meal a day.
According to Singapore's Lianhe Morning Post, Lalvani, director of the Indian branch of London stockbroker Astaire and Partners, said that only 40% of the total farmland in India is artificially irrigated, and the remaining 60% depends on the face of God. Once drought occurs, the problem of crop failure becomes more serious.
Data released last week showed that with the price of vegetables rising by 50%, food prices also rose by more than 16%. Among them, the price of potatoes soared by 81%, sugar rose by 44%, and white rice rose by 19%. Tens of thousands of local poorer people are in trouble. Sharma, the chairman of the Forum on Bioenergy and Food Security, pointed out that some poor people can only eat two meals as one meal or have no food at all.
Economist Jos pointed out that the soaring food prices in India have caused problems for local families' budgets. When they spend most of their money on food, they have to spend less on other things.
In order to protect the interests of India's 235 million farmers, the Indian government has raised the "minimum support price" of crops. However, this measure is also one of the reasons for the high food prices. In addition, the government also distributes food to poor people. However, due to rampant corruption, a large part of food has been lost before it has been delivered to the poor.
Nevertheless, the Indian government calls on consumers not to worry about food shortages. Indian Finance Minister Mukherjee said that the government could still cope with the current situation.
On the other hand, Nepal, which is adjacent to India, has also experienced a similar situation. The authorities say the drought has increased food prices by more than 30 percent in the past few months. It is understood that some local people spend 60% of their total income on food. Experts point out that these phenomena are just the omen that a large number of people are about to fall into famine.
The "food security risk index" released by Maplecroft, a British risk analysis company, points out that the risk of food shortages in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan is quite high. Food prices in these three countries will continue to rise in the future.
