G20 hits deadlock over financial regulation during food price talks
THE G20 economic powers agreed on proposals to address volatility in food commodities last night, with the exception of financial regulation issues, a source close to the negotiations revealed.
While the subject of financial regulation remains a sticking point, negotiators approved other measures such as the creation of a global data-sharing scheme, the source said.
Farm ministers from the group of 20 countries are meeting in Paris yesterday and today in the first ever summit on food prices.
The French delegation continues to push its agenda to extend regulation on commodity market trading. President Nicolas Sarkozy has repeatedly blamed speculators for food price inflation, yet faced opposition from other countries this week.
“Argentina will emphasise the importance of stimulating production growth rather than controlling it, in contrast to the French proposal to regulate financial markets linked to raw materials,” Argentine agricultural minister Julian Dominguez said earlier in the week.
A French farmers’ union used sheep to occupy the entrance hall of exchange operator NYSE Euronext’s Paris offices in a brief protest.