World food commodities prices increased 130 percent from January 2002 to July 2008. Individual agricultural commodities show even more pronounced increases: corn, wheat, rice and soybeans rose by 190, 162, 318 and 246 percent, respectively. Since July, food commodities prices began to fall....

Rising food prices cause considerable policy dilemmas for developing country governments. Letting domestic prices adjust to reflect the full change in international prices generates inflationary pressures and causes severe hardship for poor households lacking access to social safety nets....