Peanuts a hotter commodity
Peanut butter, a staple of school lunches and afterschool snacks, may soon be more expensive. (Aug. 17, 2011) Credit: Newsday / J. Conrad Williams Jr.
5.1 billion
That's peanuts -- in every sense of the word. It's the projected size of the 2011 U.S. peanut supply, in pounds. And it's also not nearly enough. Drought has suppressed the crop, and many farmers have switched to cotton for the high price it brings. On top of all this, peanut butter demand has surged 10 percent since 2008 due to hard times. Peanut butter is a cheaper protein source than meat, and demand for it is a decent barometer of how the economy is going -- lately, not well. Consumers beware: higher prices ahead.
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