A recent article in The Economist reported [..] China has been rebuilding its vast pig herd, which an epidemic of swine flu in 2018 had chopped by half. This has had a multiplier effect on demand for crops, since more grain is needed to produce an animal calorie than if the plant were consumed directly [..]. China [is expected] to buy a record som tonnes of corn (maize), one of the world's most-traded crops, this year, in part to feed all its new pigs. That is up from 11m tonnes in 2020, itself an all-time high. At the same time, high oil prices make energy crops look like an attractive alternative. And the more crops are turned into fuel, the les is left in the food system. The volume of American soyabean oil used to produce energy could rise by 39% between 2020 and 2022, reckons the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). Brazil's production of ethanol from corn shot up by more than half last year and is forecast to increase by another quarter in 2021. Even as hunger for crops has surged, other factors have squeezed supply. Droughts in the Americas have curtailed output. Brazil's winter-wheat harvest is down by a fifth- and that fifth was meant for export. Besides container crunch that affects specialty crops such as coffee, the grounding of commercial flights is stranding fresh fruits and vegetables. Higher bulk- shipping rate, up by 150% this year, are affecting grain freight. Part of that is the result of rising oil prices, which also raise the cost of petroleum-derived fertiliser and of running farm equipment. Big Agriculture: Field day, The Economist, July 315t, 2021, p. 53 a. What do you expect to happen to food prices? b. Clearly explain your reasoning. R PA