Economics Report.Food prices are at their highest levelsince the United Nations Foodand Agriculture Organizationbegan keeping recordsin nineteen ninety.The causes include bad weatherand growing demand.Some experts also blame the useof food crops to make fuel.But higher food prices are notalways the result of limited supplies.Coffee prices have jumped almostfifty percent in six months.Prices have reached a thirteen-year high.Yet growers expect their current cropto be almost ten percentbigger than the last one.JM Smucker is an American companyknown for its jellies and fruit spreads.But Smucker also owns Folgers,America's top-selling packaged coffee.And it owns Dunkin' Donuts,which sells coffee to wash downthe doughnuts at its stores.On Tuesday, Smucker said it wouldraise the prices of its coffee productsby an average of ten percent.It said the increase is drivenby the higher prices for coffee beans.Experts say coffee prices are risingmainly because peopleare willing to pay more.Coffee sellers like Mark Warmuth saytastes are changing and more peoplewant a good cup of coffee.MARK WARMUTH: "There's no rightor wrong answer with regard to‘What's a good cup of coffee?'A lot of it has to dowith personal preference or taste."Mark Warmuth owns the M.E.Swing Coffee Company in Alexandria,Virginia, near Washington.He says big coffee sellerslike Starbucks help his businessby building a base of customerswho want something better.MARK WARMUTH: "They're seeking somethingthat would be better thanwhat they can buy at Starbucks.They're seeking out smaller, boutique,artisan, craft coffee roasters,which I consider us to be,a boutique coffee roasting company.What we can do is source betterquality beans and supply themat a fresher level becausewe're smaller and we can caterto the smaller metro area.That helps us competewith bigger companies."Yet Mr. Warmuth can thank thosebigger companies like Starbucksfor spreading the idea of coffeeas an affordable luxury.The thinking goes thatduring hard times, people mightnot go on a trip but they might bewilling to pay extra for good coffee.The company supplies restaurantsand other businesses, but alsohas a store in Washingtonnear the White House.Customers pay thirteen dollarsfor less than half a kilogram of beans-- about double the priceof other brands.Greater demand for high-quality coffeehas helped drive coffee prices higher.That includes greater demandamong Brazilians.Brazil is the world'slargest exporter of coffee.People in India are alsodrinking more coffee.Starbucks just announced plansto enter that market in a dealwith India's Tata Coffee company.And that's the VOA Special EnglishEconomics Report,written by Mario Ritter.