ABSTRACT
Only with the price rises cyclically experienced in recent years has the alarm been raised, especially after the boom of 2007/2008. Although phenomena of this type are not unknown on agricultural markets, the current rises have structurally different causes. The 1970s oil crisis also coincided with a phase of demand increase, but at that time it was chiefl y energy prices that pushed up farm prices. Assuming that growth rates of future productivity do not exceed those of the previous decade, the most optimistic scenarios indicate a price rise, in real terms, from now to 2050 of between 75 per cent and 110 per cent for maize, 30-180 per cent for rice and 40-60 per cent for wheat.
