Food prices will likely decline next year, even as global crop stockpiles stay tight, especially for oilseeds, said David MacLennan, CEO of Cargill Inc., America's largest private company.
"All it takes is one really bad crop, let's say in North America or South America, to really send prices higher," MacLennan said Wednesday at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore.
World food costs jumped to a record in March after the Russian invasion of Ukraine choked off supplies from one of the world's top exporters.
Prices have since declined after a United Nations-brokered deal to allow ships with Ukrainian grain to pass safely through the Black Sea. Negotiations remain ongoing to renew the agreement, which expires Saturday.
MacLennan said the solution to the food-versus-fuel debate is to boost global crop production.
"We don't think it's going to be an either/or dynamic," he said. "It can be food and fuel."
Regenerative agricultural practices, greater yields and added technology can increase output to meet demand from both sectors, MacLennan said.