Bad weather, natural disasters, and disease are hobbling crops right now. Here’s how the food commodity markets are responding.

• Natural catastrophes and bad weather have wreaked havoc on food crops across the world.
• Orange juice futures, cacao beans, and rice have hit all-time highs of late – while Chinese pork has slumped.
• Here’s a round-up of the main movements in food commodity prices this week.

Natural disasters, adverse weather, and invasive diseases have all helped wreak havoc on the market for some of the world’s most important foodstuffs.

A succession of hurricanes and deadly bacteria have ravaged American oranges, while heavy rainfall has rotted cacao beans in West Africa. As of Wednesday, Asian rice hit its highest price in almost 15 years; while in China, pork prices have slumped so far that they have dragged inflation into negative territory.