by Li Bo

French philosopher and writer Albert Camus said, "Life is a sum of all your choices." His words ring especially true as one tries to understand the reasons behind the sharp rise in world food prices in recent years.

A rice vendor checks his product at a market in Manila May 5, 2008. The Philippines scrapped its largest rice tender of the year on Monday saying to could wait for prices to drop but its confidence jarred with warnings that soaring food prices could throw millions of Asians in poverty.

Last year's hike of 77 percent in wheat prices and 16 percent in that of rice had marked the sharpest rise in food prices ever. But the rate of increase in prices has further accelerated this year, with rice prices soaring 141 percent and the price of one variety of wheat shooting up 25 percent since January.

This spiraling inflation, driven by a sum of factors, have inspired appeals for a new evaluation system that now resonate strongly in the global market.

Rising costs

The rising cost of farming is the most significant among factors contributing to the sharp increase in world food prices.

The scarcity of water and land, increased costs of fertilizers, seeds and labor, as well as surging oil prices have increased costs for farmers. Small farmers in many countries find themselves short of incentives for future investment, despite the steadily rising global food prices.

In China, agricultural production costs rose 7.7 percent in 2007, which was higher than the increase in grain prices in the same period, China Stock Daily said in a commentary.

However, compared with meat, cooking oil, dairy products, fruits, and seafood, grains have experienced a much smaller price increase in the last few years.