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17 Jun 08 - Iowa Gov. Chet Culver
said the state’s losses totaled in the billions of dollars, with 83 of
99 counties declared disasters. Millions of acres of farmland remain
submerged.
Corn prices at the Chicago Board of Trade soared to an all-time high
near $8 a bushel Monday as the relentless rains and overflowing rivers
raised fears that Midwest farmers will lose production on as many as 5
million acres.
Corn prices already had more than doubled over the past two years, then
jumped another 25 percent in just the past few weeks
Worldwide, food prices have risen 83 percent in the past three years,
according to the World Bank. Bad weather in major grain-producing
regions is part of the reason. (I think the other part is government
interference in the free-market system.)
Concerns about rising demand and stagnant production have lead some
grain-producing countries to halt exports, which has further crimped
supplies for countries dependent on imports and driven up prices.
“The issue of food security is becoming a big deal for a lot of
food-producing nations,” said Ewen Cameron Watt, a market strategist at
BlackRock Merrill Lynch. “There’s a whole host of food-producing nations
— Egypt, Vietnam, Cambodia come to mind — who have effectively stopped
exporting their surplus product shortages domestically and their effects
on the domestic inflation.”
Demand for corn and soybeans also has been fueled by aggressive
development of alternative fuels made from grains like ethanol and
biodiesel.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25196080/
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