Cost of Corn Soars, Forcing Mexico to Set Price Limits

Economists blame ethanol plants in the United States

Facing public outrage over the soaring price of tortillas, President Felipe Calderon abandoned his free-trade principles on Thursday and forced producers to sign an agreement fixing prices for corn products.

Skyrocketing prices for corn on the world market have pushed up the price of the humble tortilla, the mainstay of the Mexican diet, by nearly a third in the past three weeks, to 35 cents a pound in Mexico City and even higher in other parts of the country.

Half of the country