Daryll Ray, University of Tennessee professor and director of the college's Agricultural Policy Analysis Center, spoke to a group of Kansas farmers to present his views on world agriculture production.
Ray cautioned farmers not to look to agriculture as a continuous source of economic prosperity. He cited the current economic crisis and warned that future corn prices, instead of near $4.00 to $5.00 per bushel, may go in the opposite direction. He noted that Brazil and Ukraine are expanding their agricultural production. For years, farmers looked to China as a big export market. China, however, has been a net exporter of grain since 1996. China does import, but they export more than they import.
Secretary of Agriculture, Adrian Polansky, also spoke at the meeting and pointed out the benefits of ethanol production. He said that ethanol plants were employing upwards of 235 people in small towns in rural Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa.
Do you expect food prices to decline this year?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-11-2009 @ 5:55AM
al coholic said...
Nope. There may be unexpeded surpluses here and there but in general it is unlikely that food prices will drop in my opinion.
It does seem likely though that high priced restaurants and grocery stores will have to lower their prices. I've already noticed a significant reduction in traffic in my area and I think it is fair to say that more people will be saying no to high priced nights out. The tip at a lot of these places is enough to pay for a whole meal at home.
1-11-2009 @ 7:05AM
painting said...
No, I don't think so. And the crisis is going on, things will be worse and worse.....
1-17-2009 @ 3:40AM
ArvoT said...
We are tracking consumer food prices online, if you are interested:
http://www.foodandprices.com/