Bloody Inflation

My Starbucks Grande Latte used to cost $3.30. It now costs $3.70. Bloody agro-inflation and weak dollar.

I will stop sounding like a spoilt whiny child and point you to this excellent article. Major oil exporting countries (Saudi Arabia and other Opec members) have always subsidized internal supply while making up for it by yanking up export prices (by not producing enough essentially). This is now happening in food as well, thanks to the sky high prices and rioting. India has imposed steep duties on exported rice. Argentina has hiked tarrifs on exported beef. I think this is a good thing especially if consumers in the major importing countries (United Kingdom for e.g.) can afford to pay the additional cost of food at little cost to their lifestyles, while for consumers in the exporting countries the cost of a bag of rice decides whether they are to have a square meal or go hungry. Some of the poor sub-Saharan African countries which import food worry me though. But all in all, Mr. James spends 40 cents more on a Latte, so that Ganesh back in Central Madhya Pradesh can afford to feed his family. The world should not always be flat.