After decades of declining food prices in real terms, the years 2007 and 2008 saw food inflation that sent shock waves around the world. Rising food prices were a strain on scarce foreign exchange reserves of the poorer among food importing nations, and compromised the accessibility to healthy and nutritious food for vulnerable segments of the population. Even rich food importers like Singapore, Japan, South Korea, and the Gulf states were affected as food exporters like Argentina, Vietnam, India, and Russia implemented export restrictions out of concern for their own food security.

Causes of the food crisis vary. On the demand side, dietary change in emerging markets like China to more meat and dairy-based diets, biofuel demand in the developed world, and slowing but continuous population growth in many developing countries weighed in the balance. On the supply side, productivity growth in developed agro-markets has petered out since the 1990s and waste along the logistic chain continues to be high. The switch of farm policies in the US and the EU from price support to direct handouts to farmers since the 1990s also played a role as stocks declined. The discovery of commodities as an asset class by yield starved financial investors contributed to increased volatility and overshooting of prices. As far as pension funds chose to take long only positions this led even to additional demand and increased prices.

The debate about causes and possible remedies is heated and cannot be solved or even outlined in extensive detail here. Instead, I want to compare some of the reactions by Asian and Gulf countries to the global food crisis and explore where they might cooperate or compete in their efforts to achieve food security. Four strategies are of particular importance: a) Planned agro-investments overseas, often in developing countries that are food insecure like Sudan, Pakistan, the Philippines or Ethiopia; b) increased strategic storage of staple foods on a national level without international coordination; c) cooperation with international organizations and the launching of initiatives on an inter-state level; and d) inclusive growth policies that ensure entitlements and access of poor people to food.