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There's no need for panic over global food prices, the head of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization Jose Graziano da Silva, said last week. They were soothing words at a time when food prices are volatile and drought in many of the world's top grain-producing regions has raised fears over food security. Britain has just been hit with its wettest summer in 100 years and that's been bad news for a lot of farmers, especially inland and in the north. But in the eastern pocket of Suffolk, wheat yields have been good. Farmer Robert Raven has already harvested his wheat and says the quality seems to be high. He says although agriculture here does suffer shocks, on the whole farmers in western Europe tend to get by. "Europe has a less variable harvest over the years purely because our weather is more predictable. So although we do suffer from volatility ourselves it's certainly not the extremes you get elsewhere," Raven said. "When we talk about a bad year it's nothing compared to what you get in other parts of the world where they get complete crop failures because of the weather." The European Union is one of the world's top grain producers and a key supplier to neighboring regions in the Middle East and North Africa. So it's good news that, although its harvest is expected to be slightly lower than normal this year, it's a relatively small shortfall. Elsewhere it's a different story. | 
