Brazil's ruined crops fuel global inflation

So when the region's crops dried up and froze this year in a double blow intensified by climate change -- the worst drought in a century followed by an unprecedented frost -- global commodity markets were shaken. The cost of Arabica beans rose 30% over a six-day period in late July; orange juice jumped 20% in three weeks; and sugar reached its highest price in four years in August. The rise in prices has contributed to the acceleration of international food inflation -- a UN index shows a gain of 33% in the last 12 months -- which aggravates the financial problems caused by the pandemic and forces millions of low-income families around the world to reduce purchases of food products. In addition, extreme weather sends a warning of things to come: Scientists predict that rising global temperatures and low soil moisture will increasingly wreak havoc on agricultural land in Brazil and around the world. "It's a vicious cycle," says Marcelo Seluchi, a meteorologist at the National ...