GROWING DEMAND FOR BIOFUELS PUSHES UP FOOD PRICES
By Chris Flood in London 
Monday, May 28, 2007
生物燃料需求抬高糧食價(jià)格

Soft commodities are hardening. Corn, wheat, cocoa and coffee prices have all risen strongly in recent months, suggesting consumers will may be facing face an extended period of more expensive food.high prices.
軟商品價(jià)格正不斷上漲。最近幾個(gè)月，玉米、小麥、可可和咖啡價(jià)格均強(qiáng)勁上揚(yáng)，這表明消費(fèi)者將面臨一輪持久的食品價(jià)格高企時(shí)期。

今年，玉米和小麥價(jià)格已觸及10多年來(lái)最高水平，咖啡和可可價(jià)格也已分別觸及8年和4年高點(diǎn)。
This year, corn and wheat prices have reached their highest levels for a more than a decade, while coffee prices have hit an eight-year high and cocoa has risen to a four-year high.

分析師表示，可可和咖啡價(jià)格上漲，是由于不利天氣影響了產(chǎn)量，而消費(fèi)在增長(zhǎng)；而糧食價(jià)格正經(jīng)歷一次結(jié)構(gòu)性調(diào)整，這主要?dú)w因于市場(chǎng)對(duì)生物燃料的需求日益增長(zhǎng)。
Yet while price gains for cocoa and coffee have been driven by adverse weather affecting production during a period of rising consumption, analysts say grains prices are experiencing a structural shift, owing mainly to the growing demand for biofuels.

德意志銀行(Deutsche Bank)的邁克爾•休斯(Michael Hughes)表示：“就像能源和金屬實(shí)際價(jià)格大幅上漲一樣，糧食價(jià)格也將經(jīng)歷類似趨勢(shì)。目前糧食價(jià)格仍遠(yuǎn)低于上世紀(jì)70年代和90年代中期（經(jīng)通脹調(diào)整后的）高位。”
“Just as energy and metals prices have rallied sharply in real terms, a similar fate awaits grains, which remain significantly below the [inflation adjusted] highs of the 1970s and mid-1990s,” says Michael Hughes of Deutsche Bank.

最近食品價(jià)格上揚(yáng)引發(fā)了市場(chǎng)的擔(dān)心，即消費(fèi)者的日常購(gòu)物支出可能會(huì)增加，而決策者擔(dān)心不斷上漲的食品價(jià)格將導(dǎo)致通脹加劇。此外，由于經(jīng)濟(jì)持續(xù)增長(zhǎng)，全球食品需求正強(qiáng)勁增長(zhǎng)。
Recent price strength has sparked fears that consumers could face higher bills for their weekly shopping, while policymakers are concerned that rising food prices will drive inflation higher. In addition, global food demand is rising strongly, thanks to sustained economic growth.

國(guó)際谷物理事會(huì)稱，盡管2007-08年，全球糧食產(chǎn)量將增長(zhǎng)6.2%，達(dá)到創(chuàng)紀(jì)錄的16.66億噸，但預(yù)計(jì)食品價(jià)格仍將上漲，因?yàn)楫a(chǎn)量仍跟不上全球消費(fèi)量。國(guó)際谷物理事會(huì)預(yù)測(cè)，今年全球糧食消費(fèi)量將達(dá)到16.80億噸，較上年增長(zhǎng)3.1%。
Predictions for higher prices come in spite of expectations that global grain production will rise 6.2 per cent to a record 1.666bn tonnes in 2007-08, according to the International Grains Council. However, this will not match global consumption – forecast by the IGC at 1.680bn tonnes, up 3.1 per cent on the previous year.