Tuesday, Jan 27, 2009
Banking Meltdown? No Worries we'll just Barter
FT: Nations turn to barter deals to secure food
Countries struggling to secure credit have resorted to barter and secretive government-to-government deals to buy food, with some contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars...The countries’ struggle to obtain credit to import food is boosting the price of domestic crops. Ms Sheeran said that prices of crops in some African countries were rising sharply even as international food commodities prices had fallen from last summer.
Posted by mountain goat @ 02:00 PM (522 views) Add Comment
8 Comments
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1. Crunchy said...
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Dismiss this at your peril.
Panic buying= Shortage=Hungar=Desperation=Crime=Anarchy=????????? Suprise?
2. mountain goat said...
Full Article:
Nations turn to barter deals to secure food
By Javier Blas in London
Published: January 26 2009 23:32 | Last updated: January 26 2009 23:32
Countries struggling to secure credit have resorted to barter and secretive government-to-government deals to buy food, with some contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
In a striking example of how the global financial crisis and high food prices have strained the finances of poor and middle-income nations, countries including Russia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Morocco say they have signed or are discussing inter-government and barter deals to import commodities from rice to vegetable oil.
The revival of these trade practices, used rarely in the last 20 years and usually by nations subject to international embargoes and the old communist bloc, is a result of the countries’ failure to secure trade financing as bank lending has dried up.
The countries have not disclosed the value of any deals, and some have refused even to confirm their existence. Officials estimated that they ranged from $5m for smaller contracts to more than $500m for the biggest.
Josette Sheeran, head of the United Nations’ World Food Programme, said senior government officials, including heads of state, had told the WFP they were facing “difficulties” obtaining credit to purchase food. “This could be a big problem,” she told the Financial Times.
Last week, Malaysia’s commodities minister, Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui, said Kuala Lumpur had already signed a barter deal swapping palm oil for fertilizer and machinery with North Korea, Cuba and Russia. He said Malaysia was talking to Morocco, Jordan, Syria and Iran about other barter deals.
“[Bartering] could be used for contracts with other countries that do not have the cash,” Mr Chin told the local press. “We can set the conditions for them to supply us with the raw materials that we need.”
Thailand, the world’s largest exporter of rice, is discussing barter deals with Middle Eastern countries, including Iran. The Philippines, the world’s largest importer of rice, has secured rice needs for this year through a diplomatic agreement with Hanoi.
The countries’ struggle to obtain credit to import food is boosting the price of domestic crops. Ms Sheeran said that prices of crops in some African countries were rising sharply even as international food commodities prices had fallen from last summer.
The move to barter shows the global food crisis that started last year is far from over.
3. Crunchy said...
Paul, I remember you saying food was plentiful.
This is about credit and transportation.
Still time to shop and be independant, before meltdown/hyperstagflation.
4. sold 2 rent 1 said...
Agreed.
Expect oil and food commodity prices to fly past last years highs by the end of the year with a peak around April 2010
Best get down to Costco to get another 20kg bag of rice. A bargain a £20
5. plato said...
Oh! I like this -- back to sanity, genuine communication and best of all deglobalisation. Freedom beckons!
6. troy said...
ah plato forever the optimist
what effin freedom?
not on the menu
not on the horizon
not on the cards
not on the wall
not in the tea bags
conceed defeat you rebel!
7. troy said...
quoteation :-
"many diversions and distractions have been put in place to weaken us.
Football and families are two originally benign entities which have been hijacked and exploited."
~~~~~~~~ me just now
8. Yoss said...
10 Removes the speculators from the market, and you get real market price.
20 Seems these countries are doing just that (and fair play), although I do worry about the speculators mortgages and leveraged debts.
30 Should they default, I worry about the poor buggers that insured them and their leveraged debts... GOTO 30