US food companies are preparing another round of hefty price increases as soaring commodity costs force them to pass on rises to consumers. In June, meat prices surged to a 22-year high because of record costs for corn and soybean, food crops for livestock. The US Department of Agriculture expects pork production to fall 3 per cent in 2009, against a 1 per cent fall for chicken and beef. Bill Lapp of Advanced Economic Solutions, an agricultural consultancy in Omaha, said higher prices looked set to prompt the biggest decline in meat consumption for 27 years. More
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