“Don’t panic” is rather tricky advice to give when people are rioting in the streets. Yet in the midst of a crisis over food shortages, that is the message from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s latest survey of agriculture. It expects the spike in prices “will not last and prices will gradually come down”.

Compared with 2007-08 levels, in five years’ time nominal rice and corn prices are expected to be 2 per cent and 7 per cent lower respectively. Wheat is forecast to be about a quarter cheaper than today.