Biofuel Boom Driving Up Pasta Prices… They’ll Get Us One Way Or The Other!

 Durum prices up 300% since last year

FARGO — The price of durum, a wheat variety used in pasta, has skyrocketed to more than $12 per bushel at North Dakota elevators — a jump farmers say is overdue.

North Dakota produces about 60 percent of the country’s durum, with this year’s state crop estimated at around 44 million bushels. A year ago, durum prices were around $4.20 per bushel.

Agriculture marketing and commodity groups say the prices are rising due to poor crops in Europe and a wet spring that hurt North Dakota durum yields.

ALSO …

In the latest biofuels-related hike, a poor wheat harvest amid rising demand from fuel makers is expected to boost pasta prices 20%

Mamma mia! The price of a plate of pasta is expected to rise 20 percent this summer as a bad wheat harvest and increasing competition from biofuel manufacturers send the price of delicate, delicious durum wheat skyrocketing.

Italy’s famous macaroni makers are the latest to find themselves at the wrong end of competition from the booming biofuel industry, which converts corn, sugar, wheat and other crops to fuel and energy. As biofuels catch on, governments are increasing subsidies. Farmers are finding themselves in an unfamiliar position: a seller’s market. Courted by food manufacturers and energy firms alike, they’re raising prices and shifting production to crops that can be used to make ethanol for cars, heat homes or generate electricity. (READ MORE)

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.