 Global
Agricultural Supply and Demand: Factors Contributing
to the Recent Increase in Food Commodity Prices (May
2008)
World market prices for major food commodities such
as grains and vegetable oils have risen sharply to
historic highs of more than 60 percent above levels
just 2 years ago. This report identifies some of
the more important factors contributing to the runup
in food commodity prices and discusses their role
in recent price increases.
 Corn
Prices Near Record High, But What About Food
Costs? (February 2008)
Using data on price trends from 1987-2007 and the
price responsiveness of corn-dependent food to cost
changes, this article traces the effect of higher
corn prices on U.S. retail food prices. The results
indicate ethanol's impact on retail food prices depends
on how long the increased demand for corn raises
farm prices of corn and the extent to which higher
corn prices are passed through to retail.
 Rising
Food Prices Intensify Food Insecurity in Developing
Countries (February 2008)
Higher global food prices can erode food security
in already food-insecure countries, especially if
they are also highly dependent on food imports. Food
aid, a key safety net source, has stagnated during
the last two decades, and its share has declined
relative to total food imports of low-income countries.
 Analysis
and Forecasts of the U.S. Consumer Price Index
(CPI) for Food (monthly)
Monthly updates are provided for the U.S. CPI for
all food, food away from home, food at home, and
15 selected food categories. Annual changes in the
food CPI and forecasts for the current year are presented,
along with analysis of the trends.
 What
Did a Dollar Spent on Food Pay for in 2006? (May 2008)
Nineteen cents of every dollar spent on U.S.-grown
food in 2006 went to the farmer for the raw
food inputs, while the other 81 cents covered the
cost of transforming these inputs into food products
and getting them to grocery store shelves and restaurants. ERS
tracks these processing and distribution costs in
order to inform policymakers and others about the
value added to agricultural commodities by the food
marketing system. |
The recent runup in global food commodity
prices reflects both long-term trends
and short-term events. Slower long-term
growth in global crop production and
more rapid growth in demand have tightened
world balances of grains and oilseeds. In
addition, about 5 years ago, global production
of ethanol and biodiesel began to add
to the demand for grains and oilseeds.
Other factors that have put upward pressure
on prices include the declining value
of the U.S. dollar, rising energy prices,
increasing agricultural costs of production,
adverse weather conditions in 2006 and
2007 and, most recently, steps taken
by some countries to curb their food
exports to mitigate their own food price
inflation.
