U.S. Locked Into Ethanol Growth

The U.S. government has few options to slow down the ethanol boom that has played a big role in drawing down corn supplies to their lowest level in 15 years, a top U.S. Agriculture Department official said Feb. 10. “The fact is the industry has pretty much been built,” USDA chief economist Joe Glauber told

Africa, Caribbean Urged To Brace For Food Price Shocks

The World Bank and International Monetary Fund are warning poor regions that have so far not been hit by rising food prices, like sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean, to get ready to face them. Food price volatility is here to stay, the World Bank cautioned, amid growing worries there could be another full-blown food crisis


Farmers To Celebrate Food Freedom Day

Canadian farm groups will celebrate Food Freedom Day Sat. , Feb. 12, marking the calendar date by which the average Canadian will have earned enough to pay the entire year’s grocery bill. “Canadian farmers are proud of their role in providing high-quality food produced to top-level food safety, environmental, and animal-welfare standards,” said CFA president

Saudi Arabia To Import More Wheat

Saudi Arabia plans to import around two million tonnes of wheat in 2011 like last year and will boost imports to three million tonnes after 2016 as it ends local production, a source at the grains authority said Feb. 2. The top OPEC oil exporter has emerged as a major wheat buyer to feed its


Gulf Arab Governments Tackle Higher Food Prices

Countries in North Africa and the Middle East are urgently seeking ways to soften the blow of surging food prices for their citizens, alarmed by protests against authoritarian rulers from Algeria to Yemen. Unprecedented demonstrations have erupted around the region, triggered by events last month in Tunisia where President Zine al- Abidine Ben Ali was

Is Cheap Food Something To Celebrate?

There were three storms making headlines over the past week, and only two of them were weather related. While the storm dubbed “Stormageddon” spread a wintry blast across 30 U.S. states, the Australian coast was hit by a major cyclone. But the storm that had all the world on edge last week was taking place


Canada Crop Stockpiles Shrink After Smaller Crops

Stockpiles of wheat and canola in Canada, a leading exporter, shrank slightly more than expected at Dec. 31 from a year earlier due to smaller crops, Statistics Canada said Feb. 4, underscoring tight global supplies that have pushed up food prices and sparked protests. Stocks of all wheat in grain bins and country elevators were

Food Costs At Records, UN Warns Of Volatile Era

Record-high global food prices showed no sign of relenting following a rash of catastrophic weather, highlighted by a major U.S. snowstorm and a cyclone in Australia, which could put yet more pressure on prices and spark further unrest around the world. The closely watched UN Food and Agriculture Organization Food Price Index touched its highest


EU Executive Pledges Curbs On Commodity Speculators

The European Union’s execut ive announced plans Feb. 2 to tackle speculation in commodities with new controls on trading to stop runaway prices for grain and energy. Spiralling food prices, which helped spark deadly riots that brought down the ruling regime in Tunisia, have prompted Middle Eastern neighbours to stockpile grain. Rising commodity prices have

U.S. Says Its Policy Not To Blame

U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said Feb. 3 it was “unfair” to blame U.S. monetary policy for pushing up inflationary pressures in emerging market economies. Some analysts have blamed the fed’s quantitative easing for flooding the global economy with money and helping to drive prices for food and other commodities higher. “It’s entirely unfair