Today in Biofuels Opinion: “It takes 21 cents of diesel per box to get it to the store, yet the value of corn in that box is less than seven cents. What do you think is the real driver of higher food prices?”

POET CEO Jeff Broin: “Just do the math. A semi can haul 4,200 boxes of corn flakes at a time, and with 10 ounces of corn in each box, that’s a total of 46.9 bushels of corn. At a $6 bushel, the corn in all 4,200 boxes has a value of $281.40. To haul those boxes 1,500 miles, however, would cost $881.25 with diesel priced at $4.70 per gallon. That means it takes 21 cents of diesel per box to get it to the store, yet the value of corn in that box is less than seven cents. What do you think is the real driver of higher food prices?”

US Agriculture Secretary Ed Schaefer: “The ethanol industry has incorporated the fact there are subsidies into their operational, financial models. I think that is a mistake. They are going to have to see a gradual step-down reduction in subsidies.”

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