WASHINGTON – Food prices will stay high for the next decade with beef and pork rising an average of 20 percent, according to reports from two international agencies.

The Agriculture Outlook, published by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome, noted that growing demand for biofuels is one factor pushing prices up, according to a report on the American Meat Institute Web site.

World fuel ethanol production tripled between 2000 and 2007 and is expected to double again between now and 2017, the AMI said. The growth in biofuel production adds to demand for grains, oilseeds and sugar, so contributing to higher crop and food prices.

In OECD countries, this growth of biofuel production has so far been driven largely by policy measures and the report says that it is not clear that the energy security, environmental and economic objectives of biofuel policies will be achieved with current production technologies.

The full report is available here: www.oecd.org/home/0,3305,en_2649_201185_1_1_1_1_1,00.html.