World Bank offers shield from unstable food prices

Robert Zoellick

The World Bank yesterday announced a new agricultural hedging tool that will provide an initial US$4B to help farmers and consumers in developing countries deal with volatile food prices.

“This first-of-its-kind product will improve access to hedging instruments to shield consumers and producers of agricultural commodities from price volatility,” the Bank said in a press release. “It will also protect buyers from price rises in food-related commodities such as wheat, sugar,