4 May 2011: The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP, or UNESCAP) has released the Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2011. According to the survey, developing countries will continue driving the global economy in 2011, but high food, fuel prices and volatile capital inflows pose challenges.

The Survey projects 7.3% growth across the region, but notable downside risks include: escalating food and fuel prices, which threaten to undermine poverty reduction efforts; sluggish economic recovery in developed countries; volatile capital inflows; and the after-effects of natural disasters.

According to ESCAP estimates, in a worst-case scenario that considers food price inflation in 2011 and average oil prices at US$130 per barrel, the achievement of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) for poverty could be postponed by up to five years in some developing countries in the region. The report urges the Group of 20 (G20) to act decisively to moderate the volatility of oil and food prices, including by regulating commodity markets to reduce speculation, as well as to discipline the conversion of food into biofuels. [Publication: Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2011] [ESCAP Press Release]