They say prices have nowhere to go but down if the market is flooded with corn. Corn prices have been pumped to near records by more than a hundred ethanol plants that have sprouted as America seeks renewable alternatives to foreign oil. But some farmers and experts warn that there's no guarantee prices will hold. And not everyone has forgotten how a massive grain deal with the Soviet Union in the early 1970s and the 1996 drought in China shot corn prices to record highs -- prices that...

Soybean acreage is expected to be down 8.4 million acres, and spring wheat acreage is projected to decline by 1.1 million acres. This expected surge caused corn prices to be very high during the winter, which led producers to increase acreage to meet the growing demand, he said. Indiana producers were no exception, as corn acreage is expected to be up by 13 percent. Corn for ethanol production is expected to surge by at least 65 percent for the 2007 corn crop compared to last year's crop,...

It is impacting the prices of key commodities such as wheat, cotton, edible oils, and cement, by either making imports feasible or hampering exports. Internationally, gold prices have gone up by $20, but the local prices are almost stable as gold strictly tracks the international prices. Dalal, however, believes that prices may again go up after a month as the New York futures are quoted at a premium of 20 per cent to January 08 delivery spot price. The appreciating rupee has disincentived...

Cotton T-shirts - the product of a number of different global industries, with production in almost every country in the world - are one of the best products for tracking globalisation. For many of the cotton producers - such as Soulimane Sawago, leader of one village collective - the cash they get from selling the cotton is the only money they receive in the whole year. From the collective, the cotton is transported to the ginning factory to make lint - a process which takes the cost per...

He said the concept of free import and export of cotton had been tampered by the government by disallowing the import of raw cotton from Wagah border. Addressing a news conference here on Wednesday, he said turmoil in the textile sector was more due to the failure of the government to follow its stated policy on exports. The government should provide subsidy from its own resources instead of increasing the cost of production of industries including export units. There was no refund of the...

A proposal has been sent for having 50 new textile parks throughout the country of which the first one will be in Vidarbha. Vidarbha s farmers don t get enough price due to the low count variety of cotton, the problem can be alleviated by CCI, he said. The minister also advocated corporate farming for cotton which can improve the peasants condition. The government has in-principle agreed to have the unit in Vidarbha, however the exact location has not been identified yet. NTC had invited...