PORTLAND, Ore. – World grain stocks are the tightest in nearly three decades, USA Today reports. The low supply contributes to increasing food inflation and to concerns about food shortages in some countries. For example, Russia placed taxes on barley and grain exports recently to keep domestic food prices steadier.

Bad weather in many countries have driven up grain prices. In addition, the United States and other countries are producing more corn crops for ethanol production, which also have tightened supplies of some grains. The declining value of the dollar contributed to more international demand for U.S. grain.

Late last month, wheat reached $9.61 a bushel on Chicago futures markets – twice the price of last year – after an Australian drought reduced production numbers. Canada, Europe and some other countries had a poor crop, too. While U.S. crops were more than last year’s, U.S. wheat stockpiles are forecast to be the lowest since 1948 to 1949, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department (USDA).

All this translates into higher food prices, which are likely to stay up for some time, especially with world wheat consumption outpacing production for much of the past 10 years. “This is very uncertain, when you look at the history of agricultural prices, but I would say we’re probably moving toward a higher average level of prices,” USDA Chief Economist Keith Collins told the newspaper.

“We have a global economy that’s growing at near 5 percent, which is unusual in and of itself. We have emerging middle classes all around the world, and we have the biofuels situation…adding significantly to the industrial demand for agricultural products. Then we have the supply disruptions, which have been most pronounced for wheat,” Collins said.

In America, the average price for a loaf of bread rose 11 percent over the past year. Ground beef jumped 6 percent, chicken advanced 9 percent, and eggs increased 31 percent. Overall, U.S. food inflation has risen 5.6 percent so far this year, compared with 2.6 percent for all of 2006.

Food manufacturers, such as Sara Lee, Kellogg and General Mills, have responded by raising their prices.