Food Inflation Is Not Yet Dead

Food inflation may not be dead.

Cocoa prices climbed to a 46-year high this week in New York as concerns about dry conditions across West Africa could reduce yields for the Ivory Coast, the world’s largest producer of cocoa beans, ahead of the mid-crop in April.

In the US, a rapidly shrinking cattle herd, now at the lowest levels in seven decades, has pushed the supermarket price of beef to a record of $5.21 per pound. Rising food prices are the central bank’s worst enemy.

To end the week, breakfast lovers will be disappointed to learn robusta bean prices in Vietnam, the world’s largest producer of the bean, are absolutely out of control.

Local robusta prices in Vietnam hit a record on Thursday, topping nearly 80,000 per kilogram.

“That’s threatening to push prices in London up further, even after the benchmark capped its own all-time high this week at $3,336 a ton,” Bloomberg said, adding the surge in prices was primarily due to farmers “hoarding” the bean.

To recap this week, cocoa bean, beef, and robusta bean prices have been marching higher.