Bigger corn crop not likely to ease food-price inflation
ST. LOUIS — The global crisis caused by high grain and food prices has little to do with supply and a lot to do with demand.
The government predicted Thursday that U.S. farmers this year will produce their second-biggest corn crop since 1944. Yet all that won't likely be enough to halt food-price inflation.
Pushing grain prices up, possibly for years to come, are growing sources of consumption: demand from an expanding Asian middle class; increased use by the U.S. ethanol industry; and speculation in futures contracts for grain and other commodities.
