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November 29 – Financial Times (Javier Blas): “Policymakers already concerned about the relentless rise in global food inflation are facing more bad news in the shape of soaring soyabean prices. Soyabean prices have risen to their highest level in 34 years, boosted by strong Chinese demand and fears that current prices are not high enough to swing acreage from corn to soyabeans in the US… The price-jump threatens to resonate through the supply chain, boosting meat and poultry prices because soyabean is used largely for animal feed, analysts warned. The surge in soyabean costs - coupled with price increases in other feedstock, such as wheat and corn - could prompt some farmers to abandon production of pork, beef and lamb amid mounting losses, paving the way for higher meat prices in the future. Food inflation is already a big concern for policymakers in developed and developing countries… Soyabeans are, together with corn, rice and wheat one of the world’s key crops. About 80% of the harvest is processed into soyameal and cakes for livestock feeding, while the other 20% is converted into oil for human consumption (and more recently also to feed the biodiesel industry).”