G.O.O.D

Source: Reuters

Retailers’ sales fell as much as 4 percent during the holiday season, as the weak economy and bad weather created one of the worst holiday shopping climates in modern times, according to data released on Thursday by SpendingPulse.

The figures, from the retail data service of MasterCard Advisors, show the 2008 holiday shopping season was the weakest in decades, as U.S. consumers cut spending as they confront a yearlong recession, mounting job losses and tighter credit.

“It’s probably one of the most challenging holiday seasons we’ve ever had in modern times,” said Michael McNamara, vice president of Research and Analysis at MasterCard Advisors.

“We had a very difficult economic environment. Weather patterns were not favorable toward the end of season, and that resulted in one of the most challenging economic seasons we’ve seen in decades.”

The figures exclude auto and gas sales but include grocery, restaurant and specialty food sales. Although SpendingPulse did not exempt the food prices, McNamara said the decline would have been steeper without them.

“There’s a lot of food that provide a buffer for the total retail sales numbers,” he said.

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Technorati Tags: Retail sales

Source: farminguk.com

Less than twenty five years ago four African Nations were in the top 10 beef exporting countries in the world, today two of them are starving, whilst the other two are now beef importers..

Bull Brand in South Africa we the fifth biggest beef exporters in the world producing local beef and all the cattle from Namibia formerly South West Africa.. Echo Brand in Botswana had the most modern, state of the art beef plant in the world at Lobatse

.The Vestey Organisation,who were the worlds largest beef and lamb processors were
In Zimbabwe, formerly Rhodesia and operated several beef plants in this lush fertile land for export. Liebigs formerly from London and Fray Bentos in Uraguay ,ran the beef operations of Kenya. through the Kenyan meat commission and together these four counties made up 20pc of the worlds beef exports.

Speaking In Dubai earlier in the year, Sir John Holmes, from the UN¨”s Emergency relief and Humanitarian affairs said “food prices have risen an estimated 40pc since 2007and that security implications should not be underestimated, as food riots are already being reported across the world.”

There has been rioting in Egypt, where butchers shops have lost 50% of there trade due to high prices. To try and ease tensions the Egyptian Police, are baking 70,000 loaves of bread each day to sell to the poor for 1 cent a loaf. More than half the population of Egypt live on less than two dollars a day. Ireland is the main exporter of beef to Egypt in recent years mainly manufacturing cow beef and plain steers.

Romania, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslavia were big exporters of beef into Western Europe, under the old Soviet Regime that source of supply, has since disappeared as the domestic economies have improved and increased local consumption.

In the last year since early 2007,Corn has risen by 36pc,Rice has increased 75pc.Soymeal 87pc and in many counties bread has gone up 130pc in price. The increased production in Biofuels along with increased consumption in emerging economies, such as India and China have played a large part in the crisis.

Meat has been a luxury item in Europe for several years, with high prices caused by the guarantee systems in place to safeguard farmers. However the wealthy economies have been helped by the growth of processed meats, such as sausage, burgers and kebabs these products have always ensured a sufficient meat intake for a healthy diet.

In the last few months there have been Food Riots in Haiti, Cameroon, the Ivory Coast, the price causing the problems today and not just the shortage.

Josette Sheeran, director of the UN World Food Programme said last month “We are seeing the new face of global hunger. We are seeing food on the shelves, yet people are unable to afford it”

George Sorros, one of the biggest land owners in Argentina believes this situation will last for at least 10 years until agriculture catches up to world demand.

Technorati Tags: Food Shortage

Source: The Raw Story

Homelessness and hunger increased in an overwhelming majority of 25 US cities in the past year, driven by the foreclosure crisis and rising unemployment, a survey showed Friday.

Out of 25 cities across the United States surveyed by the US Conference of Mayors, 83 percent said homelessness in general had increased over the past year while 16 cities, or nearly two-thirds of those polled, cited a rise in the number of families who had been forced out of their homes.

In Louisville, Kentucky, the number of homeless families increased 58 percent in 2008 to 931 families from 591 people in 2007, with the rise blamed on soaring food, health care, transportation and energy prices.

Boston, Massachusetts and Providence, Rhode Island blamed the rise in family homelessness on evictions by landlords whose rental properties were foreclosed.

Meanwhile, the number of people seeking food assistance for the first time was up in all 21 cities with data on the issue, and was “particularly notable among working families stressed by the increase in food prices and the slowdown in the economy,” the report said.

Officials in Philadelphia told the survey that “new people coming to food cupboards are people that are employed with children.

“With food prices increasing as much as 30 percent and incomes either staying the same or decreasing, it is impossible for them to feed their families,” the report said.

When asked to identify the three main causes of hunger, 83 percent of cities cited poverty, 74 percent cited unemployment and 57 percent cited the high cost of housing.

And while demand for food assistance was up, providing it was more difficult for cities as the faltering economy and rising joblessness — two key reasons for the increased demand — also caused the number of donations to fall.

Greater efficiency in large grocery stores and food suppliers has also shrunk the availability of food assistance because it has decreased food donations from the large organizations, which are the main donors to food banks.

Food banks — places where donated food is made available free-of-charge to needy people — are the main providers of food aid in most US cities.

They have struggled in the past year to maintain stock levels due to the increased cost of food and fuel.

“Los Angeles, Boston and Portland reported that increases in the price of food have lead to a decrease in the quantity of food they are able to purchase,” the report said.

“In Phoenix, where the cost of fuel and trucking expenses has increased by as much as 72 percent, the total amount of food distributed decreased by 13 percent even though the level of funding increased by 30 percent,” it said.

The price of food increased 6.2 percent on average over the last year, the largest increase in nearly 20 years, the report said.

And during the 12-month period ending in September for which most of the cities provided data, gasoline (petrol) prices skyrocketed in the United States to reach record highs of more than four dollars per gallon to the consumer, with the price of diesel fuel used by truckers going even higher.

Technorati Tags: Homelessness, hunger

Source: NYTimes.com

Food Prices Rising

For more than a year, food manufacturers have been shaving package sizes and raising prices, declaring that they had little choice because of unprecedented increases in the cost of raw ingredients like corn, soybeans and wheat.

Prices are dropping for commodities like this corn being harvested near Auburn, Ill., but economists predict the cost of food for consumers will continue to increase through next year.

Now, with the price of grains and other commodities plunging, it may seem logical that grocery prices will follow. But while prices for some items like milk and fresh produce are dropping, those of most packaged items and meat are holding firm or even increasing. Experts warn that consumers should not expect lower prices anytime soon on most items at the grocery store or in restaurants.

Government and industry economists project that the overall cost of food will continue to climb in 2009, led by increases for meat and poultry. A big reason, they say, is that food companies still have not caught up with the prolonged run-up in commodity prices, which remain above historical averages despite coming down from their highs early this year.

The Agriculture Department is forecasting that food prices will increase 3.5 to 4.5 percent in 2009, compared with an estimated 5 to 6 percent increase by the end of this year.

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Technorati Tags: commodities, corn, soybeans , wheat

Source: Bloomberg.com

Food Prices Rising

Food prices will rise next year, prompting a revival of protectionism from food-growing nations and risking a renewed bout of rioting, according to Jochen Hitzfeld, an analyst at UniCredit SpA in Munich.

“Agricultural commodities will outperform the broad commodity indices in 2009,” Hitzfeld wrote in a research note this week. “If key crop-producing countries then impose export bans again and speculators drive up prices via physical stockpiling and futures contracts, new food unrest is even conceivable in the second half of 2009.”

The CHART OF THE DAY shows food prices for the past 10 years as measured by an index compiled by UBS AG and Bloomberg that tracks at least 13 foodstuffs, including wheat, soybeans, sugar, cocoa and coffee. The index has declined 35 percent since peaking in July.

“The prices of many agricultural commodities are now clearly below their production costs,” Hitzfeld wrote. “We expect the coming year to bring a cutback in area under cultivation as well as a decline in the yield per hectare.”

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Source: washingtonpost.com

Fueled by rising unemployment and food prices, the number of Americans on food stamps is poised to exceed 30 million for the first time this month, surpassing the historic high set in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina.

The figures will put the spotlight on hunger when Congress begins deliberations on a new economic stimulus package, said legislators and anti-hunger advocates, predicting that any stimulus bill will include a boost in food stamp benefits. Advocates are also optimistic that President-elect Barack Obama, who made campaign promises to end childhood hunger and whose mother once briefly received food stamps, will make the issue a priority next year.

“We soon will have the most food stamps recipients in the history of our country,” said Jim Weill, president of the Food Research and Action Center, a D.C.-based anti-hunger policy organization. “If the economic forecasts come true, we’re likely to see the most hunger that we’ve seen since the 1981 recession and maybe since the 1960s, when these programs were established.”

The Agriculture Department is set to release the new numbers as early as this week. Agency officials declined to confirm the figures but outlined them in a briefing last month for advocates and administrators of state food stamp programs. Breaking the symbolically important 30 million mark comes on the heels of government data showing that 11.9 million people went hungry in the United States at some point last year. That included nearly 700,000 children, up more than 50 percent from the year before.

Food pantries and other charitable organizations are also reporting an increase in demand from those in need. Visits to local pantries are up by 20 to 100 percent over the past six months, and calls to the Capital Area Food Bank’s hunger hotline have jumped 248 percent. Most are from people who have never used food stamps or a pantry before, said Lynn Brantley, the organization’s president and chief executive.

Analysts attribute the jump primarily to rising unemployment, which hit 6.5 percent in October and is predicted to increase to 8 percent by the end of 2009, but rising food costs are also a factor. Although prices have fallen from the levels of this past spring, they remain high. In October, the consumer price index for food and beverages had jumped 6.1 percent over last year. Staples such as eggs and bread rose even faster.

For low-income families, who spend a higher percentage of their monthly budget on food, that rise has been particularly painful. Food stamp benefits are adjusted for inflation only once a year, and as of September, the maximum benefit fell $64 a month short of the cost of the thriftiest, USDA-established diet for a family of four. The annual adjustment in October of 8.5 percent largely brought the benefit in line with food costs again, but the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan policy group, estimates that if current inflation persists, by December benefits will again fail to match the cost of the thrifty food plan.

“At a time when we have more people turning to the food stamp program, it is less and less able to meet their basic food needs,” said Stacy Dean, the research center’s director of food assistance policy.

To qualify for the food stamp program, whose name was officially changed last month to the Simplified Nutrition Assistance Program, recipients must have an income below 130 percent of the federal poverty level, or less than $27,564 for a family of four. The benefits, which average $109.93 a month per person, are based on a plan set by the government to represent a low-cost but nutritionally adequate diet. Participants apply locally to receive an electronic card that is used like an ATM card to buy food at most grocery stores and some farmers markets. The maximum benefit for a household of four is $588 a month.

At the Department of Human Services on H Street NE yesterday, the benefits office was busy. D.C. resident Harry Washington, 54, had come to apply for food stamps after losing his job at a Dupont Circle restaurant that closed for renovations last month. Over the past three years, he has received food stamps several times to tide him over between jobs. “This all has been going on awhile. It just depends where you are on the totem pole whether or not you have felt it,” Washington said.

Jaqueline Hawkins was also there to sign up. The 47-year-old broke her hip last November, forcing her to leave her job at a Whole Foods Market. Hawkins received short-term disability, then unemployment benefits. Both have run out. “I came for food stamps because my other options have expired,” she said. Hawkins plans to begin looking for work after Jan. 1.

Benefit applications are up around the Washington area. In the District, the number of applicants in October was 7.5 percent higher than last year’s. In Arlington County, the average number of food stamp applications in the past six months is up 17 percent over applications during the same period last year.

At the Arlington Food Assistance Center, meanwhile, the number of clients has jumped by 25 to 35 percent over last year, said Executive Director Christine Lucas. Lines for food, sometimes with as many as 95 people, begin forming around 7:30 a.m., even though the food pantry does not open until 10.

On a recent morning, one of the early arrivers was Alvaro Ascencio. The 45-year-old, who lost his construction job after 12 years, was hopeful he would find work soon and had turned to the pantry as a stopgap. “If I didn’t know about this, I wouldn’t know what to do,” Ascencio said through an interpreter.

To tackle the problem, supportive lawmakers are pressing to include a temporary bump in food stamp benefits in the next stimulus package. Similar proposals failed to pass twice this year, but there appears to be broad support now for an increase of 10 to 20 percent, advocates and lawmakers said.

Economists say an increase in food stamp benefits would help the economy overall by concentrating relief on those most likely to spend the money quickly, pumping dollars into an economy desperate for demand. According to Mark Zandi, chief economist of the rating agency Moody’s Economy.com, every $1 spent on food stamp benefits generates $1.73 of economic activity, more than extending unemployment benefits or offering state fiscal relief.

“Congress has been focusing on the impact on the financial markets,” said Dean at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. “We want them to focus on the supermarkets and help 30 million people.”

In 2009, the new Congress will also have to deal with renewing the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act, which includes school breakfast and lunch programs and the Women, Infants and Children program that provides money for specific foods such as milk and infant formula. The act is due to expire in September 2009, and Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), who chairs the Agriculture Committee, has long been keen to expand eligibility and strengthen mandates for nutritious food in these government-funded programs.

Technorati Tags: unemployment, food prices