The cost of your meals is going up. While this might be tough on your wallet, you can make lemonade from lemons by taking a look at agriculture exchange traded funds (ETFs).
Rising wheat and cattle prices are in particular focus these days.
As cattle prices move upward, it may translate into more expensive beef at the store. Purchases of U.S. beef around the world have surged while U.S. herd numbers are down. The shortage has driven up the futures market for cattle by 11% since early July to nearly $1 a pound, just shy of the $1.04 record set in 2008, says Liam Pleven for The Wall Street Journal. [6 ETFs To Play Potash Wars.]
Nations in Asia and elsewhere are buying more U.S. beef, and the U.S. is the largest producer in the world. Higher prices for cattle and beef come as the world is contending with a rise in the cost of wheat and corn this summer. [Drought Makes Ag ETFs Look Good.]
Heda Bayron for VANews reports that poor crops in Russia and Eastern Europe have caused international wheat prices to jump more than 50% since June. Many are hoping that the United States will pick up the slack.
Visit our agriculture page for more stories about the sector. Among the ETFs that give agriculture exposure include:
- Market Vectors Global Agribusiness (NYSEArca: MOO): up 2% in the last 10 days; MOO is an equity ETF that holds stock of agriculture producers
- PowerShares DB Agriculture (NYSEArca: DBA): down 0.3% in the last 10 days; holds corn, wheat and other futures contracts on agricultural commodities
- Teucrium Corn Fund (NYSEArca: CORN): up 0.6% in the last 10 days; holds corn futures contracts
Tisha Guerrero contributed to this article.
The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.