Corn and soybean prices are at all-time highs globally, according to a recent World Bank report, causing global food prices to increase by 10 percent and creating severe budget challenges in the Middle East and Africa.
The World Bank said the ongoing drought and dry summers in the U.S., Russia and India are the major cause, resulting in $300-per-metric-ton corn — twice the price of 2010. Soybeans have doubled to more than $600 per metric ton in five years. The World Bank’s report is similar to that of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, which said in August that rising grain, corn and sugar prices drove up its food price index by 6 percent.