Biofuels get unfair rap for price hikes

BIOFUEL PRODUCTION has helped push up food prices in some countries, but is not the primary driver, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad). “Biofuel production and the land use it entails are often cited as key determinants of the current food crisis,” says Unctad in a policy brief. “In Unctad’s view, increased biofuel production has been – for certain crops and certain countries – a driver of food price inflation, but not the dominant one.” The price of rice, for example, has increased dramatically over the past 12 months. But rice is not used for biofuel production, and so far, only small amounts of rice cropland have been shifted to producing biofuel feedstocks.