Analyst Predicts Corn Rationing in 2008 - Food Shortage

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esApr 02 2008 Wheat Rises as Abnormal Weather Erodes Outlook for U.S. CropPosted by: Joshuah in famine, wheat Via Bloomberg.comWheat jumped more than 4 percent, snapping a five-session slump, as a lingering dry spell in the Great Plains and excessive rain in the eastern Midwest diminish yield prospects for U.S. winter crops emerging from dormancy. Rains expected in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas in the next five days will miss the driest counties, private forecaster Meteorlogix LLC said in a report. Above-average rainfall from Arkansas to Ohio may have damaged some crops. Wheat dropped 16 percent in the five sessions before today.“We’re starting to focus on the weather as farmers in the eastern Midwest try to dry out their fields,” said Larry Young, a senior trader at Infinity Futures Inc. in Chicago. The western Great Plains “are going to be a key area,” he said.Technorati Tags: wheat, famine No Comments »Apr 02 2008 Rush to restrict trade in basic foodsPosted by: Joshuah in Agriculture, famine From the ever informative FT.comGovernments across the developing world are scrambling to boost farm imports and restrict exports in an attempt to forestall rising food prices and social unrest. Saudi Arabia cut import taxes across a range of food products on Tuesday, slashing its wheat tariff from 25 per cent to zero and reducing tariffs on poultry, dairy produce and vegetable oils.On Monday, India scrapped tariffs on edible oil and maize and banned exports of all rice except the high-value basmati variety, while Vietnam, the world’s third biggest rice exporter, said it would cut rice exports by 11 per cent this year.The moves mark a rapid shift away from protecting farmers, who are generally the beneficiaries of food import tariffs, towards cushioning consumers from food shortages and rising prices.Technorati Tags: famine No Comments »Apr 01 2008 Analyst Predicts Corn Rationing in 2008Posted by: Joshuah in corn, famine From the Houston ChronicleA BB & T Capital Markets analyst said Monday corn rationing may be necessary this year, following a U.S. Department of Agriculture report predicting farmers would plant far fewer acres of corn in 2008.According to the March Prospective Plantings Report, farmers intend to plant about 86 million acres of corn this year, down 8 percent from 2007, when the amount of corn planted was the highest since World War II.Analyst Heather L. Jones said in a note to investors if the USDA estimate proves accurate, the year may produce just 200 million bushels of corn. That, she said, wouldn’t be enough to meet demand, given current export and feed demand trends and higher ethanol demand. Both ethanol and animal feed are made with corn.“That is an untenable inventory demand, in our opinion,” she said. “Consequently, we believe demand must be rationed or there needs to be a big supply response from other growing regions of the world.”Technorati Tags: corn, famine, recession No Comments »Mar 31 2008 International wheat prices may create crisesPosted by: Joshuah in famine, wheat From the Daily TimesISLAMABAD: In neighboring countries prices of wheat are ranging from Rs750 to Rs 900 per 40 kg, which may result in increase of smuggling of Pakistani wheat to India, Afghanistan and the Central Asia Republics. Owing to open trade policy and the new government rates (Rs625/40kg), the investors, hoarders and profiteers will purchase maximum quantity of wheat at higher rate, during current procurement season, to get windfall profit a later stage. Large quantity of wheat will also be utilised in poultry and cattle field in place of maize and broken rice, being cheaper in price, which will further aggravate the position.Technorati Tags: wheat, famine No Comments »Mar 31 2008 How a failing wheat crop has hit our weekly grocery shopPosted by: Joshuah in famine, wheat From the Scotsman.comThe cost of our basic groceries are shooting up dramatically at a time when soaring petrol costs are already hitting motorists in the pocket. Michael Blackley wonders whether there is any respite in sight.AT this time of year, millions of people across the country are waiting with anticipation – or trepidation – to see what impact their annual pay review will have on them. An employee on the average Edinburgh salary of around £30,000 may expect to see something in the region of £85 added to their monthly wage, based on last year’s average earnings rise. And even that figure may be optimistic this year given the current economic climate.But, whatever your pay award turns out to be, give it a month or so and you’ll probably find that the extra cash hasn’t helped loosen the purse strings much, if at all.Tags: banks, Federal Reserve No Comments »Mar 31 2008 Rice and politics in Asia | Empty bowls, stomachs and pocketsPosted by: Joshuah in famine, rice From the Economist.com THE soaring price of rice and dwindling stockpiles of Asia’s staple food are causing anxiety across the continent. In particular the Philippines, a big, hungry country which cannot grow enough to feed itself, could be in trouble. The front pages of Manila’s newspapers scream about a “rice crisis”, as politicians float drastic solutions, such as forcing the country’s top 100 companies to take up rice farming. Farmers in Thailand, the world’s largest rice exporter, are delighted with the price surge, although some were this week said to be hiring guards to protect their valuable crops against “rice bandits”. The president of the Philippines, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, last month pleaded publicly with neighbouring Vietnam, the second-largest exporter, to guarantee supplies. The two countries signed an agreement on Wednesday March 26th apparently to do just that. But the various escape clauses that Vietnam insisted upon suggest it was more of a face-saving measure than a firm pledge. Vietnam and India, another big rice exporter, have recently announced export restrictions to try to curb soaring food prices at home. This will make it tough for poor, rice-importing countries, in Africa as well as Asia, to secure supplies.Technorati Tags: rice, famineTags: famine, rice No Comments »Mar 29 2008 Tens of thousands of wheat acres floodedPosted by: Joshuah in famine, recession, wheat From the High Plains/Midwest AG JournalFarmers along the Arkansas River, its tributaries and other rivers on the eastern side of the state are waiting nervously for the floodwater covering their wheat to drain away. “They definitely didn’t need this,” said Dr. Jason Kelley, Extension wheat agronomist with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture. “I’m sure the (flooded) acreage numbers are much greater than we envisioned last week when the rain started–tens of thousand of acres I’m sure.”He said the flooding will be an economic hardship on some farmers counting on the crop. The flooding will likely reduce yields in some fields and may kill the crop in other fields, depending on how long the water stays on the fields. Additionally, all the money farmers have invested in the crop could be lost.In Prairie County Monday, March 24 Hank Chaney watched a mobile home floating down the rain-swollen White River. Chaney, county Extension agent with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, said other homeowners were watching water creep closer to their homes.Some of the county’s farmers are upset and worried that if the water doesn’t come down fast enough, they’ll be in trouble on their wheat contract, Chaney said. “The price looks so good, and they were hoping to sell at that price, but if the water doesn’t come off soon enough, they’ll have trouble coming up with the wheat to fulfill their contract obligations.“Last year, we had a freeze, and now we have flooding,” Chaney said.Jackson County farmers are in the same situation.“I’ve gotten several calls this morning and last week from farmers wanting to know how many days water can stand on wheat before their wheat is seriously hurt or destroyed,” said Randy Chlapecka, Jackson County Extension agent. He said it’s hard to give them an answer because there are so many variables involved.He said several thousand acres of wheat are under water along the White River.Chlapecka figures if water has only been standing on wheat two or three days, the wheat will probably recover. Other wheat has been covered four to six days, “and we don’t expect good things.”Besides the prospect of a crop loss or yield losses, farmers have considerable money tied up in their crops. In the fall, they spent money on pre-plant fertilizer, seed and land preparation. Most farmers have already applied at least half of their spring nitrogen fertilizer.“There was a lot optimism at planting because of high commodity prices,” Chlapecka said. Now, instead of a profitable crop, he said, they’re looking at substantial losses.“I’m sure we’ll get through it. You know resilient farmers are,” he said.Woodruff County Agent Eugene Terhune says farmers face an additional problem.“Even when the water goes down, there’s so much debris that has floated over those fields that it’ll take farmers a lot of work to get fields ready to plant soybeans and other crops,” he said.For more information about flooding and wheat production, contact your county Extension agent. The Cooperative Extension Service is part of the U of A Division of Agriculture.Technorati Tags: wheat, famine, recessionTags: famine, recession, wheat No Comments »Mar 26 2008 Threat to millions as food aid scheme runs out of money - World Politics, World -Posted by: Joshuah in World Food Programme, corn, famine, rice, wheat I hope people are paying attention, preparing accordingly, and are not too late. If you haven’t done so yet, acquire tangible assets, such as those mentioned in this article.From the Independent.co.ukFaced with the dramatically spiralling costs of wheat, rice and corn, the World Food Programme has made an unprecedented appeal for at least $500m (£250m) to help it continue supplying food aid to 73 million needy people this year.Josette Sheeran, the organisation’s executive director, told journalists yesterday that this was the first time in its history that the WFP had appealed for funds, not because of a crisis caused by famine or war but because of market conditions. And she warned that if extra resources were not received before the beginning of May, food rations would have to be cut.“This is the new face of hunger,” she said. “People are simply being priced out of food markets. It’s the first time we have been hit by a dramatic market surprise. We have never before had a situation where aggressive rises in food prices keep pricing our operations out of our reach.”Technorati Tags: famine, wheat, corn, rice, World Food ProgrammeTags: corn, famine, rice, wheat, World Food Programme No Comments »Mar 25 2008 Wheat, Soybeans Advance on Supply Risk; Gold Rallies on DollarPosted by: Joshuah in corn, economics, famine, gold, recession, soybeans, wheat Via Bloomberg.com: Worldwide Wheat, corn and soybeans rose for a second day on speculation demand for grains in food and fuel will outstrip supply as poor weather cuts U.S. crop yields. Gold rebounded from the biggest weekly drop in 25 years as the dollar gave up some recent gains, and zinc rallied the most in a month. Crude oil fell for a fourth day on concern a U.S.-led slowdown in the global economy will curb demand. Corn and soybeans may keep rising because output is lagging behind demand, said Morgan Stanley, the second-largest U.S. securities firm.“U.S. production in the near term is inadequate to meet growing ethanol and export demand,” Morgan Stanley analysts led by New York-based Hussein Allidina, said in a report e-mailed today. The fundamentals are “very constructive,” he said.Wheat for May delivery rose as much as 28 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $10.48 a bushel in Chicago, and traded at $10.46 at 10:23 a.m. London time. The price has more than doubled in the past year even after a 17 percent decline last week.Commodities are posting their seventh year of gains on demand led by China and disrupted supplies of metals and crops. The UBS Bloomberg Constant Maturity Commodity Index of 26 commodities gained 30 percent in the past year even after an 8 percent plunge last week.Technorati Tags: Wheat, corn , soybeans, gold, economics, famine, recessionTags: corn, economics, famine, gold, recession, soybeans, wheat No Comments »Mar 25 2008 Gov’t to examine swings in crop futuresPosted by: Joshuah in economics, famine, recession, wheat Via Business WeekCostlier corn flakes, pricier pizzas and painful pump fill-ups share more than top billing among consumers’ worries. They’re all riding a roller coaster of commodity market prices, where peaks are unusually high. Like oil futures, agricultural futures have experienced dramatic highs and lows in recent months as Wall Street investors flock to commodities for protection from the falling dollar and slumping stocks.But the ups and downs in futures prices are giving grain sellers and farmers financial vertigo. Instead of finding predictable prices for wheat, corn and other crops in futures markets, they’re getting daily price jolts and no refuge from uncertainty.That has prompted government regulators to examine what forces, if any, have thrown the markets off balance.http://www.getoutofdodge.net/category/famine/