Cheap no more Rising incomes in Asia and ethanol subsidies in
America have put an end to a long era of falling food prices ONE
of the odder features of last weekend's vote in Venezuela was
that staple foods were in short supply. Something similar
happened in Russia before its parliamentary election.
Governments in both oil-rich countries had imposed controls on
food prices, with the usual consequences. Such controls have
been surprisingly widespread—a knee-jerk response to one of the
most remarkable changes that food markets, indeed any markets,
have seen for years: the end of cheap food. In early September
the world price of wheat rose to over $400 a tonne, the highest
ever recorded. In May it had been around $200. Though in real
terms its price is far below the heights it scaled in 1974, it
is still twice the average of the past 25 years. Earlier this
year the price of maize (corn) exceeded $175 a tonne, again a
world record. It has fallen from its peak, as has that of wheat,
but at $150 a tonne is still 50