At the end of 2008, FGV Projetos sponsored a survey to analyze the determining factors behind food prices. Among the main conclusions of the study, it was established that the expansion in the production of biofuels – more precisely ethanol from sugar cane – was not a relevant factor for the rise in food prices observed over the course of the year 2008. What really contributed decisively to the rise in food prices was speculation in the futures markets and an increase in demand at a time when world stockpiles were low.

This publication - specially developed for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and FGV Foundation’s seminar ‘Agribusiness in Brazil: Policies, Experiences and Perspectives” (Paris, November 2011) - updates the earlier work by investigating the causes of price increases.