Region could suffer severely from U.S ethanol policy

The tortilla paradox is coming to Central America. First seen in Mexico (see SourceMex, 2007-01-10 and SourceMex, 2007-01-31), the phrase has come into use to denote a price reversal by which tortillas now cost more in the lands where they are the staple food than they do in New York. The World Food Organization (FAO) says cereal grains, particularly corn and wheat, have reached their highest prices in a decade. The spike, says theFAO, is the result of the US choice to feed corn to its cars as well as to livestock and people, as much of the world's corn production is slated for ethanol