Tuesday, October 9, 2007

AP: Biofuels playing a role in the "worst bout of food inflation since 1990"

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Here's the deal: ethanol is not the only reason that the average price of a bowl of cereal and milk is moving from 44 cents last year to 49 cents this year to an expected 56 cents next year. But, as AP writer Lauren Villagran explains, a weak U.S. dollar, high fuel prices and China's growing economy don't hide the fact that the rapid increase in corn ethanol production is affecting people at the grocery store. And so, the "worst bout of food inflation since 1990" does have something to do with all those millions of gallons of etahnol. And are you ready for this tidbit: "China will import almost 50 percent of the world's oilseeds within a decade, becoming the world's largest importer, according to estimates from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development." That will affect food and biofuels, no doubt. The upshot of Villagran's article is that these prices are part of a complex, global issue. Will it follow that more people will demand high-efficiency, low-liquid-fuel-using cars pronto? Or will Americans just buy steak less often?

[Source: AP]

 

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