World food consumption patterns –trends and drivers

Since the mid-2000sagricultural and food prices moved toa higher level and in parallel with prices of other commodities–and at times have also been very volatile. These events led to concerns which, in different ways, brought to the forefront a debate about food security. Both developed and developing countries saw their consumers facing the impact of higher food prices, and their producers feeling the pressure from higher input costs. In a series of Briefs(on Demand, Regional influences, Supply and Stocks)we analyseevolutions in different drivers responsible for these price develop-ments separately and bring them together in a concluding Brief. ThissecondBrieffocuses on identifying the main trends in demand and the main drivers explaining these trends.