by the larger number of financial investors in primary product markets and the proliferation of financial derivatives tied to these products. it is likely that this also has had an impact on food price trends. 8 in this context, it is clear that the design of policies oriented toward moderating increases in the level and volatility of agricultural and food prices, and dealing with their consequences when they are inevitable, faces significant challenges. i would like to highlight four of them, which from my point of view are particularly relevant. first, the design and implementation of the policies required to deal with the macroeconomic impact and the social costs of food price fluctuations. second, the setting in motion of actions oriented toward overcoming structural difficulties that are affecting food production, such as low investment levels, infrastructure deficiencies, modest storage facilities, and the high concentration in brokerage markets. third, the need to take into consideration that some of the policies that have been adopted to attenuate the effects of food price increases, such as export restrictions or tariff reductions in several countries simultaneously, price controls and subsidies, frequently end up having the opposite effect. fourth, the importance of taking actions focused on improving transparency, the availability of information, and in general the functioning of markets for these products, in such a way as to provide adequate incentives for the adoption of schemes that stimulate productivity and competitiveness in this sector, contributing in this manner to a lower disparity in food prices, both across countries and regions, as well as through time. world bank, food price watch, february 2011. r. arezki and m. bruckner, “ food prices and political instability ”, imf working paper, wp / 11 / 62, march 2011. nakaso, hiroshi et al., “ report of the g20 study group on commodities ”, november 2011. bis central bankers ’ speeches

its relations with frankfurt during its first ten years the ecb has developed excellent relations with its environment here in frankfurt, be it with the institutions of the city or with the population. at the beginning there were still some taxi drivers who did not understand immediately where to bring a passenger who just said : “ european central bank, please ”. today, the situation is quite different. and the ecb has endeavoured to spread the knowledge of what is happening in there. we do that via our publications or our website but also by inviting the public to come inside the ecb. therefore, we participated in the skyscraper festivals of 2001 and 2007, following the example of our forerunner, the european monetary institute which did so in 1996 and 1998. in the framework of our 10th anniversary we held an open day on 1 june, and about 1, 000 visitors could get first hand information of the role and functions of the ecb. in addition, we regularly explain our work to groups of visitors from around the world, and among them of course citizens from frankfurt and the rhein - main area. in 2007 their number reached 13, 500 altogether and each visitor did not only see the ecb but also the city of frankfurt. for completeness, i wish to also mention our taking part in the osthafenfest and in the luminale, during which the großmarkthalle was fantastically illuminated. also, ecb staff participated in dragon boat races and got the enthusiastic support from the public and their colleagues on the banks of the main. the ecb is a european body, and its staff is now composed of nationals from the 27 member states of the european union. every day, i enjoy the multi - cultural atmosphere at the ecb which is stimulating as it brings fresh ideas into our professional life because of the different experiences, work styles and cultural backgrounds only to name a few of the inspiring factors. our daily encounter with the richness of european heritage brought us to the thought to let the public participate in this understanding. we did so by launching the cultural days of the european central bank which we have organised every year since 2003. the basic concept is to feature each time aspects of the variety and affluence of the culture of one of the member states of the european union, and bring it to frankfurt to present it to the citizens of the rhine - main region and beyond, with events covering music, literature, film, and modern dance. furthermore, we offer lectures about different