Wheat, Soy Prices Double, Corn up 40%

[Puppycow]

I saw this on NHK tonight. Compared to one year ago, wheat and soy have more than doubled, while corn is up 40%. They went to Nicaragua and looked at the situation there, and apparantly a lot of people can no longer afford food. The World Food Programme has stepped in, so there hopefully won't be an immediate famine, but things are getting a little tight.

A news search found this. Lots of demand especially from China has led to what are record prices for soy.

From the US perspective, and other agricultural net exporters, I suppose this is good, as exports are up, but for poor countries like Nicaragua, it's tough.

 

[balrog666]

I saw this on NHK tonight. Compared to one year ago, wheat and soy have more than doubled, while corn is up 40%. They went to Nicaragua and looked at the situation there, and apparantly a lot of people can no longer afford food. The World Food Programme has stepped in, so there hopefully won't be an immediate famine, but things are getting a little tight.

A news search found this. Lots of demand especially from China has led to what are record prices for soy.

From the US perspective, and other agricultural net exporters, I suppose this is good, as exports are up, but for poor countries like Nicaragua, it's tough.

In other news: Dollar falls again!

Check the price of any other commodity over the last 3 years.

 

[WildCat]

And, of course, none of this could possibly be related to our idiotic policy of growing food to produce fuel so inefficiently that it only produces enough fuel to grow another crop of corn to turn into fuel...

But Dick Durbin says this is a wonderrful thing!

 

[WildCat]

Food prices, which have been surging because of increased demand stemming from ethanol production, rose by 1.7 percent last month, the biggest monthly increase in three years. Prices for beef, bakery products and eggs were all up sharply.

Source.

But all that ethanol is keeping down energy costs, right?

The wholesale report said that energy prices jumped 1.5 percent, as gasoline prices rose by 2.9 percent and the cost of home heating oil jumped by 8.5 percent.

Oops, guess not! But it's great news for farmers!

Is there anyone out there who thinks ethanol use in the US is a good thing, besides politicians pandering to the farm lobby?

 

[Beerina]

They're talking about "switch grass", which is more efficient than corn, but less than sugar cane. And why can't at least the southern states grow sugar cane?

Capitalism will rise to the occasion, but it'll take a few more years. Still, oil "scarcity" is still so much nonsense. Increased demand + war + government threats of burying oil with ethanol + OPEC restrictions + speculation by massive investment retirement funds combined cannot raise the price of oil enough to make alternative energy sources economically viable. Hell it's barely at the level to make resurrecting old stuff in Texas worthwhile. Hell, it still isn't enough to open up much of Alaska, largely due to politicians pontificating to innumerate concrete canyon dwellers about the evils of a few dozen acres of damaged land in a state with a hundred million acres.

 

[WildCat]

They're talking about "switch grass", which is more efficient than corn, but less than sugar cane. And why can't at least the southern states grow sugar cane?

Sure, they've been talking about switch grass for at least 20 years now... but for some reason no one's growing it. And it won't help if they grow switchgrass instead of food anyway.

Sugar cane can only be grown in tropical climates, of which only the extreme southern tip of Florida qualifies. Maybe lower elevations of Hawaii also.