The prices of many staple food commodities have increased substantially over the past year. As a result, many developing countries are facing larger food import bills. The cereal import bill of the world’s poorest countries is forecast to rise by 56 percent in 2007/08, following an already...

In the period leading up to the July 2008 WTO ministerial meeting, the crisis of soaring food prices was used both to argue for a speedy resolution of the negotiations, and to argue against any further reductions in protection that might result from a new agreement. Are the arguments relating to...