French ag minister outlines plans for G20 meeting
June 03, 2011 | 06:54 PM
By JERRY HAGSTROM
Emergency food reserves, insurance against food price volatility and more coordinated regulation of futures markets are among the issues on which the French government will seek to achieve consensus when agriculture ministers from the G20 countries meet in Paris this month, French Agriculture Minister Bruno Le Maire told The Hagstrom Report today.
Le Maire met today with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who later confirmed to The Hagstrom Report that he will attend the June 22- 23 meeting that French President Nicholas Sarkozy has organized to address the issues of worldwide agricultural production and price volatility. France holds the presidency of the G20, which consists of most of the European Union and 19 of the largest economies in the world.
In the interview, Le Maire revealed that he has refined some of the proposals that France made when announcing the meeting 10 months ago, and has dropped others.
When Sarkozy proposed a meeting of agriculture ministers to try to achieve consensus, G20 members were totally opposed, Le Maire said.
“Ten months later we are not far from having a consensus,” he said. “I cannot say there will be an agreement, but agreement is not out of the question.”
France has wanted the U.S. government on board with the proposals from the beginning, Le Maire said, adding that the United States has provided “constant support” for the French agenda to increase agricultural productivity and reduce food price volatility. Leaders of the G20 countries became alarmed over price volatility in 2008 and 2009, and have trying ever since to find ways to reduce the impact, particularly on poor countries that import food.
“Volatility is a problem for everybody,” Le Maire said, for both farmers, who cannot predict their incomes, and for consumers, who can’t plan on how much food will cost.
The proposal for emergency food reserves, which alarmed some free-trade minded Americans, should be “a very last solution” to address price volatility, Le Maire said. The proposal has been put in the hands of the United Nations World Food Program, headed by Josette Sheeran, who was a Bush administration trade and State Department official before she was appointed WFP executive director.
At the Paris meeting, WFP will make a “concrete proposal,” including a definition of the stockpiles, their size and where they would be located, Le Maire said. He said he has discussed the emergency reserve idea with French farmers, who were “very cautious” because it could limit exports. He noted that officials in India and China have agreed to back only a “very limited” reserve for rice, the commodity whose price spikes caused the greatest problems in 2008 and 2009.
Le Maire said emergency reserves would need to be constructed carefully because there might be negative effects of stockpiles. He said he discussed the issue with White House adviser Michael Froman at length on Thursday.
Vilsack said he told Le Maire that open markets and transparency about food supplies would constitute a “virtual reserve” that would make a physical reserve less necessary. The secretary said Le Maire replied that full transparency would be difficult because countries such as Brazil and China are reluctant to divulge information.
Vilsack said he told Le Maire that agriculture ministers should stick to their “core competencies” of increasing production and opening up markets.
Emergency food reserves, insurance against food price volatility and more coordinated regulation of futures markets are among the issues on which the French government will seek to achieve consensus when agriculture ministers from the G20 countries meet in Paris this month, French Agriculture Minister Bruno Le Maire told The Hagstrom Report today.
Le Maire met today with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who later confirmed to The Hagstrom Report that he will attend the June 22- 23 meeting that French President Nicholas Sarkozy has organized to address the issues of worldwide agricultural production and price volatility. France holds the presidency of the G20, which consists of most of the European Union and 19 of the largest economies in the world.
In the interview, Le Maire revealed that he has refined some of the proposals that France made when announcing the meeting 10 months ago, and has dropped others.
When Sarkozy proposed a meeting of agriculture ministers to try to achieve consensus, G20 members were totally opposed, Le Maire said.
“Ten months later we are not far from having a consensus,” he said. “I cannot say there will be an agreement, but agreement is not out of the question.”
France has wanted the U.S. government on board with the proposals from the beginning, Le Maire said, adding that the United States has provided “constant support” for the French agenda to increase agricultural productivity and reduce food price volatility. Leaders of the G20 countries became alarmed over price volatility in 2008 and 2009, and have trying ever since to find ways to reduce the impact, particularly on poor countries that import food.
“Volatility is a problem for everybody,” Le Maire said, for both farmers, who cannot predict their incomes, and for consumers, who can’t plan on how much food will cost.
The proposal for emergency food reserves, which alarmed some free-trade minded Americans, should be “a very last solution” to address price volatility, Le Maire said. The proposal has been put in the hands of the United Nations World Food Program, headed by Josette Sheeran, who was a Bush administration trade and State Department official before she was appointed WFP executive director.
At the Paris meeting, WFP will make a “concrete proposal,” including a definition of the stockpiles, their size and where they would be located, Le Maire said. He said he has discussed the emergency reserve idea with French farmers, who were “very cautious” because it could limit exports. He noted that officials in India and China have agreed to back only a “very limited” reserve for rice, the commodity whose price spikes caused the greatest problems in 2008 and 2009.
Le Maire said emergency reserves would need to be constructed carefully because there might be negative effects of stockpiles. He said he discussed the issue with White House adviser Michael Froman at length on Thursday.
Vilsack said he told Le Maire that open markets and transparency about food supplies would constitute a “virtual reserve” that would make a physical reserve less necessary. The secretary said Le Maire replied that full transparency would be difficult because countries such as Brazil and China are reluctant to divulge information.
Vilsack said he told Le Maire that agriculture ministers should stick to their “core competencies” of increasing production and opening up markets.
