[sustran] Biofuels shift seen to put major squeeze on food prices

[Todd Edelman, Green Idea Factory]

  *Biofuels shift seen to put major squeeze on food prices
*

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(Some things new to me in this one... but I think it is safe to simplify 
this all as "as few cars as possible, don't eat beef, drink less cow's 
milk" - T)

AFP, 9 August 2007 - A global shift toward renewable energy could jack 
up food prices by up to 80 percent as crops and farmland are diverted to 
producing biofuels, an international agricultural think-tank warned 
Thursday.

Joachim von Braun, director-general of the International Food Policy 
Research Institute, said further crop yield improvements and increased 
efficiency of these alternative fuels were required if a global price 
shock were to be avoided.

Unless governments invest to improve farm productivity "so that we can 
cope with the increased demand for biofuels, the (food) prices may come 
up between 40 and 80 percent on top of what you can see," he told 
reporters on the sidelines of an agriculture and poverty conference here.

"If it's well managed and we have more investment in research and 
technology to bring up yield levels in the crops and improve the 
efficiency of biofuels, these price effects may only be between five and 
15 percent. So it depends on government policy," he added.

Von Braun said that "globally, many countries have plans to scale up 
biofuel production in the order of covering 10-20 percent of their 
transport fuel," chiefly ethanol and biodiesel.

Brazil has committed to 25 percent while Europe plans to use biofuels 
for 10 percent of the countries' needs by 2020, he added.

In Asia, he said the picture was mixed, which China having announced 
plans to shut down some of its ethanol plants "because of the concern 
for using too much grain for them."

On the other hand, India has moved rapidly into ethanol production, 
Japan wants to import more biomass to address its international 
commitments on dealing with climate change, and Malaysia and Indonesia 
both wanting to be major suppliers of biodiesels based on palm oil.

"So there is a general idea that this is an important market. It will be 
partly driven not only from the energy market side but from the global 
demand for renewable energy."

He said crops which are "fundamenetal for the livestock industry are 
being affected and clearly we will see a lot of correlation in the price 
movement in the energy market and in the food market."

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Todd Edelman
Director
Green Idea Factory

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