Food Prices will Continue to Rise around the Globe (Politico)
The Politico quotes CGD senior fellow Kim Elliott on the role of biofuels and other factors exacerbating the global food crisis.
From the article:
"'We are definitely talking about higher prices straining the system for a while,' said Kimberly Elliott, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development.
The soaring food costs are the result of mix of factors: high energy prices; increased demand from emerging economies such as China and India; the explosive growth in biofuels; and the droughts, desertification and floods that may be linked to climate change.
Food prices are expected to rise domestically by as much as 5.5 percent this year. That affects not only commodity grains but also poultry and dairy products, which will require more expensive feed. The relatively small effect on American food prices is due to the fact that most American food is heavily processed, and therefore commodity grains figure much less in the total price.
The World Bank has projected that the high prices will linger for at least the next two to three years. Corn and soybeans in particular are expected to remain expensive because of their use in biofuel production.
'It is hard to delink the food crisis from the energy crisis,' Elliott said.
At the center of the public policy debate is corn, which has nearly doubled in price over the past year."
