A new report, Global Agricultural Supply and Demand: Factors Contributing to the Recent Increase in Food Commodity Prices, describes the numerous factors that have affected the price of global food commodities. The report, from USDA's Economic Research Service, provides a clear picture of both the long-term and short-term trends that are affecting food prices. Long-term trends include the combination of slower growth in production and rapid growth in demand that has decreased world grain and oilseed stocks. Short-term trends include:

• Adverse weather conditions in some major grain- and oilseed-producing countries
• Rising energy prices
• Increased global demand for biofuel feedstocks
• Declining value of the dollar
• Increasing agricultural costs of production
• Growing foreign exchange holding by major food-importing countries
• Policy decisions by some exporting and importing countries to mitigate food price inflation
• Entrance of hedge fund managers into commodity markets

The full report can be read here.