Cooking oils, left behind in this year\u2019s surge in agriculture prices, are poised to catch up with grains as record demand cuts stockpiles by the most in 17 years.<\/p>\n
Inventories of soybean oil and palm oil, used by Nestle SA and Unilever and in everything from Hellmann\u2019s mayonnaise to Snickers candy bars, will drop 12 percent in the coming year as China and India increase consumption 11 percent, U.S. Department of Agriculture data show. Food prices climbed in September to the highest level since the crisis in 2008 that sparked riots from Haiti to Egypt, the United Nations says.<\/p>\n
\u201cChina\u2019s economy is growing and there\u2019s no reason why the country will take any less food next week, next month, or next year,\u201d\u009d said Steve Nicholson, a commodity procurement specialist at International Food Products Corp., a distributor and advisor on food ingredients in Fenton, Missouri. \u201cWe\u2019ve been able to produce more food in the past 2,000 years, but can we do it fast enough to meet the demand from China and other emerging economies to stave off a crisis?\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n