SINGAPORE – Corn prices are poised to pop because of the growing ethanol boom in the United States that will likely severely limit the crop’s food and feed use, The Wall Street Journal reports. This potential increase has fueled concerns that corn may soon be out of reach for poorer consumers. The crop’s use as a staple food ingredient in many countries, as well as its wide use as feed for poultry and other livestock, could contribute to higher food prices in general.

For example, in Mexico, advancing corn prices have turned into a hot political issue because the grain is used to make tortillas, a Mexican food staple. Tortilla prices have risen 14 percent in 2006, writes the newspaper. Lawmakers have called for price controls, and incoming Economy Secretary Eduardo Sojo said last week that more U.S. corn has been moved toward ethanol production and away from Mexico’s consumer market, which has been a major factor in the higher price.

The Earth Policy Institute recently released a report on potential corn demand from the ethanol industry that could cause soaring food prices, which in turn could lead to urban riots in low-income countries that rely on grain imports, such as Indonesia, Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria and Mexico, Lester Brown, founder of Earth Policy Institute and the report’s author, told the newspaper.

The report indicates that the ethanol distilleries being built in the United States will use 139 million metric tons of corn by the 2008 harvest, much more than a U.S. Department of Agriculture estimate of approximately 60 million tons. “If the Earth Policy Institute estimate is at all close to the mark, the emerging competition between cars and people for grain will likely drive grain prices to levels never seen before,” Brown told the Journal.

The United States is the largest corn grower and the world’s leading exporter of the crop. Apart from being the biggest corn grower, the U.S. is also the world's leading exporter.

China also produces and consumes a lot of corn, and last month, the Chinese government stopped approving new corn-based ethanol plants—a measure to ensure domestic availability of the crop.

In the United States, the National Corn Growers Association has maintained that there will be enough of the crop to meet demand. “Farmers have always responded to price signals from the marketplace and historically we have had much more challenge with overproduction than shortage," Rick Tolman, CEO of corn association, told the newspaper. "Market forces, not broad assumptions, are driving ethanol and corn markets...There is no conflict between the two [corn use for food and fuel], nor any pending crisis."