August 15, 2007

Biofuel Could Raise Food Prices 80%

Joachim von Braun, director general of the International Food Policy Research Institute, has warned that food prices could climb by between 40 and 80 percent unless investments in improving agricultural productivity are made, Business Green Blog reports. Correlations between demand for biofuel and an increase in food prices were already evident and that the situation could worsen, he said.

“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,” he observed. “So it depends on government policy.”

This is just the latest of such announcements. The controversy has prompted several companies to reassess their biofuel plans. Most notably National Express has announced it was pulling out of a biofuel trial.

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