You'll Be Paying More for Bread Soon

Blame parched Russia, which is stopping wheat exports
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Aug 5, 2010 4:10 PM CDT
You'll Be Paying More for Bread Soon
In this July 31, 2010, file photo a field of unidentified cereals burning near the town of Voronezh, south of Moscow.   (AP Photo / Mikhail Metzel, File)

Russia today said it would ban wheat exports for the rest of the year amid a brutal drought, sending prices for the grain soaring to their highest level in two years. The upshot is that US shoppers will likely have to pay a bit more for bread, cereal, or pasta in the next 2 to 6 months, says an economist with the US Department of Agriculture.

The rally in wheat is also helping drive up prices for corn, oats, and soybeans. That's good news for US farmers, whose crops will help make up some of the shortfall in exports from Russia and other countries with damaged crops such as Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Canada. (More wheat stories.)

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