More social unrest is heading Egypt's way as water shortage increases, power disruptions become more frequent and food and power prices soar. Egyptians already spend 40% of their income on food, compared to 10% in rich countries, so the margin is quite tight already and with food production expected to be not enough to cover the world's needs in the coming four decades (10% deficit), global food prices will continue to skyrocket (not to forget the impact of global warming - droughts - on production). Jeremy Grantham reflects on all of this in his excellent FT article "The food crisis should not be left to cowboy capitalists". Excerpt below:
