Dec. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Ian Horowitz, senior equity analyst for Rafferty Capital Markets, talks about the increase in global food demand and the impact on commodity prices. Horowitz speaks with Carol Massar on Bloomberg Television's "In the Loop." (Source: Bloomberg)
The cost of food climbed 25 percent from a year earlier in December, based on the FAO figures, after Chinese demand strengthened and Russia’s worst drought in a half-century devastated grain crops. Record fuel prices, weather- related crop problems, increasing demand from the growing Indian and Chinese middle classes, and the push to grow corn for ethanol fuel all contributed to the crisis as well.