Agricultural price volatility - effects on food security

Abstract

This The paper presents the causes of agricultural price volatility and the volatility effects on food security. In this context, it builds upon the idea that agricultural price volatility differently influences the consumers and the farmers, at the same time affecting the population’s food security, limiting the access to food mainly for the poor population. The second part of the paper evaluates the agricultural price volatility in Romania, using the monthly price series in the period 2006-2014, from the National Institute of Statistics. The obtained results reveal that throughout the investigated period, the agricultural prices had higher volatility in sunflower, potatoes, soybean and wheat, among the crop products, and in eggs and mutton as animal products. At the same time, consumer prices were more stable excepting vegetables and fruit.