A new report from Farm Foundation, NFP finds that while some of the same factors that drove commodity and food price increases in 2008 are at work today, new and very different factors have also emerged. The report, What’s Driving Food Prices in 2011?, cites the role of two persistent demand shocks—corn for biofuels production and soybeans for China—in the mix of factors pushing commodity price increases in recent months. Other factors include weather-related production shortfalls, changes in cropping patterns and a weak and volatile U.S. dollar.
http://www.farmfoundation.org/webcontent/Whats-Driving-Food-Prices-in-2011-1742.aspx?z=85&a=1742