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Ethanol front and center… The European Union has been a major importer of U.S. ethanol in recent years, ranking third with 197 million gallons imported last year. The EU’s 2024 imports of U.S. ethanol represented a 54 percent increase over 2023. When it comes to distillers grains, the EU ranked sixth last year, purchasing 684 million metric tons of U.S. product, 46 percent above the prior year.
Renewable Fuels Association President Geoff Cooper talked with AgriTalk host Chip Flory this morning. When asked about ethanol’s role in the E.U./U.S. trade deal announced over the weekend, Cooper said American ethanol is, ‘front and center’ in trade negotiations, including the new deal with the European Union. Cooper was optimistic about global demand for U.S. ethanol, especially given newly negotiated trade relationships.
USDA reports the all-items Consumer Price Index (CPI), a measure of economy-wide inflation, increased 0.3 percent from May 2025 to June 2025 and was up 2.7 percent from June 2024.
Food prices rose at about the same rate as overall inflation. The CPI for all food increased 0.3 percent from May 2025 to June 2025. Food prices in June 2025 were 3.0 percent higher than in June 2024.
- The food-at-home (grocery store or supermarket food purchases) CPI increased 0.2 percent from May 2025 to June 2025 and was 2.4 percent higher than in June 2024.
- The food-away-from-home (restaurant and other foodservice purchases) CPI increased 0.4 percent from May 2025 to June 2025 and was 3.8 percent higher than in June 2024.
In 2025, overall food prices are anticipated to rise at about the historical average rate of growth. In 2025, prices for all food are predicted to increase 2.9 percent. Food-at-home prices are predicted to increase 2.2 percent, and food-away-from-home prices are predicted to increase 4.0 percent.
In 2026, prices for all food are predicted to increase 2.7 percent. Food-at-home prices are predicted to increase 1.6 percent, and food-away-from-home prices are predicted to increase 3.1 percent.
Seeking signs of herd rebuilding… The July Cattle on Feed Report offered little relief to customers paying higher prices for beef. USDA said the number of animals placed in feedlots for weight gain before being sent to packers plunged to its lowest level since 2017.
Bloomberg says the shortage has wiped out billions in profits for packers and has driven beef prices record-high in U.S. grocery stores. Dr. Derrell Peel at Oklahoma State University says the latest USDA numbers offer little indication of herd rebuilding.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists intercepted fresh cherries infested with the European cherry fruit fly on June 19. The pest was discovered during a secondary inspection of a five-pound bag of cherries that were coming into the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. The fruit was heavily infested with live fruit fly maggots and was in possession of someone flying into Detroit from Romania.
The traveler’s destination was Fish Creek, Wisconsin, one of the major tart cherry-producing regions in the United States. European cherry fruit flies have already been discovered in several New York counties where they pose a major threat. Those counties are now under quarantine to prevent the flies from spreading to other states.