Oil prices surge — vegetable oil, that is (Marketplace)

Marketplace published an article stating that the prices of vegetable oil commodities — like soy, palm, and canola — have surged and the effect that has on consumer use and spending. Senior research fellow, Joseph Glauber explains that the price rise is largely due to global weather events that have taken a toll on supplies of two key oil commodities: soybeans and palm oil. Glauber said Brazil accounts for about half of global soybean exports, while Indonesia and Malaysia produce much of the world’s palm oil. “Malaysia got hit by a really bad typhoon and had a lot of flooding. This had a big impact on their palm oil production this year,” he said. “Palm oil prices have gone through the roof.” “With soybeans, you might think of tofu or other foods. But that’s a really small part of the market. A big part is animal feed,” Glauber said. “Some vegetable oil goes to things other than food use, primarily industrial use. They make biodiesel out of it.”