International agreements to manage food price volatility

The 2007–08 food price surge has prompted renewed concerns in relation to food security. I ask whether the International Commodity Agreements of the second half of the twentieth century may have lessons for new international agreements on food security. The answer is largely negative. It is important to avoid politicization of the discussions and to recognize differences across food commodities. I second the De Gorter and Just (2010) proposal for conditioning biofuel mandates on grain prices but also see a role for rice food security stocks as an expedient until export controls become subject to WTO disciplines.

► Commodity agreements have little relevance to food security arrangements.
► The 2008 rice market problem was availability in the face of export restrictions.
► Rice policy needs WTO export disciplines plus an international food security stock.
► Volatility of other grains prices resulted from the biofuels energy price link.
► A policy of price-contingent mandates would moderate volatility.