"The agriculture sector is showing more resilience to the global economic crisis than other industries as food is a basic necessity, but the risks of a sharp rise in food price still remains, according to a new report by the OECD and FAO released on Wednesday. The OECD-FAO report, titled Agricultural Outlook 2009-2018, says that falls in agricultural prices and in the production and consumption of farm goods are likely to be moderate as long as the economic recovery begins within two to three years. ..." [Xinhua/Factiva]

AP adds that "...prices are not expected on average to remain at the current levels, which are near the record high of 2007-2008. However, they are 'unlikely to fall back to their average levels before the 2007-2008 peaks,' the report added.... 'Extreme price' volatility is possible, primarily because of the impact of changing energy and oil costs on the agriculture sector as well as erratic weather conditions, the report said. Food insecurity and hunger remain a problem for the world's poor, but 'access to food rather than food availability' is the greater problem in the longer term, the report said...." [Associated Press/Factiva]

The IHT writes that "...the report forecast that prices for food commodities would rise 10 to 20 percent in the next decade, compared with the 1997-to-2006 period, while prices for vegetable oils would be more than 30 percent higher.... Dairy demand over the medium term is expected to expand particularly in developing countries.... But meat prices, it said, are unlikely to surpass the 1997-to-2006 average; they did not surge with other prices in the period before 2008...." [International Herald Tribune/Factiva]