2011 is likely to become a record year in terms of inflation and price hikes for food in the world, and countries such as Algeria and Tunisia have already been rocked by social riots due to the unavailability of food.

The world economy is facing a food “price shock”, which may turn into a food crisis, reports the Financial Times, quoting the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. The UN believes that in many developing countries, including China and India, inflation has become a major economic and political problem.

World prices for many commodities have risen sharply in recent years. According to the IMF, the prices of maize and rice have increased by more than 40 percent since July, soybeans and wheat prices have risen by more than 20 percent. Consequently, the price of bread in Armenia has increased by more than 10 percent over the past four months.

“At the same time, the level of prices for some Armenian foodstuffs is really high as compared to international prices, which is connected with structural weaknesses in the distribution sector, limited competition between importers and producers in some sectors,” said Tolosa.

Meanwhile, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), which positions itself also as a socialist party, has published a special brochure, in which it says that Armenia is facing a crisis of economic management. This crisis, according to the party, is manifested in all spheres, beginning from “the ruthless and inefficient use of natural resources” (water, soil, mines) and ending with decision-making by state bodies.