All this has caused prices of basic commodities to sky-rocket.
Wheat production failed, many small farmers lost their herds, and prices of basic commodities more than doubled.
He is correct in pointing to the big economic gains, mostly the result of the increased price of basic commodities such as soy, corn and wheat.
Mr. Sarkozy wants to make progress in rebalancing currencies and lessening their large fluctuations while bringing more stability to the prices of basic commodities.
The rise of the new middle class may also bump up the prices of basic commodities, as more wallets chase scarce resources and that will affect everyone.
Dissent has been on the rise in Jordan this year, with anger directed at surging prices of basic commodities, along with that of fuel and electricity.
The temperatures are down to 0 degrees Celsius (32 Fahrenheit) at night, and prices of basic commodities, including gasoline and electricity, are rising.
General price inflation in Europe is hardly at shocking levels, despite big increases in the prices of basic commodities such as energy, which have nothing to do with the euro.
In declaring an official state of calamity, the government has also given itself the power to control prices of basic commodities and services - a measure it says will "avoid overpricing and hoarding of vital products".
Bread and cornmeal disappeared from most shelves Saturday as stores complied with the order issued by President Robert G. Mugabe last week to halve the prices of basic commodities in an attempt to get a grip on rampant inflation, which reached an official rate of 4,500 percent in May, though real inflation is estimated at closer to 9,000 percent.
The Rome conference was prompted by a sharp rise in the price of basic commodities like rice and wheat that incited food riots in many countries in 2008, a crisis that Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general, warned could easily be repeated.
