Posted on 05/11/2008 6:10:27 AM PDT by Kevin J waldroup
At a press conference today, leaders from farm and ethanol groups pointed to skyrocketing oil prices, hedge fund commodity speculators, growing worldwide demand for grain and severe droughts as the major factors underlying rising food prices. They also pointed to the expansion of biofuels as preventing even higher oil prices. The groups cited Merrill Lynch analyst Francisco Blanch’s estimate that oil and gasoline prices would be about 15% higher, or $4.14 a gallon at today’s prices, if biofuel producers weren't increasing their output.
Now that is a whopper!!!
...and how do the phony subsidies factor in to all of this gibberish?
Pro-ethanol bump.
where is albore in all of this???
They point at everything but the True Cause.
I’m still waiting for that company that is going to cover 12 square miles of Arizona desert with ponds to grow algae for bio-refinery feedstock.
If only hype was gasoline, if only...
What subsidies—Farmer gets no price support now,
oil companies get a tax credit to blend ethanol,
no cash pmts, just a credit,but they get tax credits
that are many times more on everything thay do, much
more than what ethanol credit is. Ed
Ethanol ping.
Renewable Fuels Association
One Massachusetts Ave NW
Suite 820
Washington, DC 20001
Does anyone need to know any more to judge the credibility of the persiflage generated by these folks.
Their news release tells the truth.
Some grain producing counties have had droughts.
Some grain exprting countries stopped exporting,
they have to feed their own.
Many countries want to have more food, and
our country still exports some. These raise demand.
Speculators have put huge amounts of money into
farm products, and using demand as the reason, have
driven up prices.
And farmers in last few years have increased output
of corn for food/feed 31%, plus the amount for
ethanol.And the high protein feed from its production
raise over 15 billion lbs of meat a year.And its
450,000 bbls a day, at market price a $1.20 less than
regular pump gas, helps keep prices down. Ed
I guess the point it this: How do ALL subsidies affect the issue (big oil, big farm, big government).
Farmers get no price supports, the price level
has been driven up by speculators above supports.
BIG oil gets a tax credit for using ethanol,
not a cash pmt, but it is real small part of all the
tax credits here and abroad that the the oil businesses/opec get in process of
delivering gas/energy.
You can say big farm but is it really “BIG”.
Farmers raise 14 billion bushels of corn per year.
But the amount of oil in gals, handled by oil
companies is that figure every ten days. Farm sector
is smaller than oil, computers, banking, mfg,
speculators, etc. And that is why the speculating
money put into farm products the last few years
is having big effect on prices...Ed
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