Food prices increased globally seven months in a row, hitting record levels worldwide. The F.A.O. price index, which tracks 55 food commodities for export, rose 3.4 percent in January, hitting its highest level since tracking began in 1990. Four main factors are seen as driving prices higher: weather, higher demand, smaller yields and crops diverted to biofuels. In the U.S. wheat and sugar prices are especially high. As margins in restaurants and grocery are already squeezed, higher prices will increase hardship. We’re not out of the woods yet.
New York Times, 2/3/2011
