Root incredibly strong protests in North Africa in recent weeks, without a doubt is the political plane, including the desire for more rights and freedoms. However, one must always bear in mind that question often lies in the plane of the economy, spurred by the recent acceleration of growth in food prices. The index of food prices, tracked the UN has reached a record level last month, surpassing the previous peak in the summer of 2008, this index has almost doubled since 2005.
For most developing countries, food prices are of great importance. For example, consumers in the top four BRIC countries spend around 19% of their income on food, according to EuroMonitor International, while U.S. consumers spend only 6%. In less developed countries, this proportion could easily passes for 50%.
This jump in prices for agricultural products on the demand side has reasons for the sharp increase in population and economy, and the supply side - a series of extraordinary events such as the horrific flooding in Australia and problems with the weather in Russia. In Asia, rice prices, the main product of the region, in some countries has reached record levels. Sugar prices have almost doubled during the year and rose more than fourfold since 2003. Wheat prices have risen 80% since the middle of last year. Egypt alone imported 60% of its needs for wheat last year, and could become the largest importer of wheat (it needs to feed 79 million mouths to feed).
To raise prices on products are the key to developing economies. In the near future there is potential for cross-flow of capital from developing economies in the developed world that was characteristic of the first month of this year. In respect of the forex market, it can serve as a supportive factor for the major reserve currencies in relation to non-redundant.
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