What was that about Wal-Mart?

In the middle of an AP Business story from Friday:

Foreign-owned stores such as France's Carrefour, Germany's Metro, and America's Wal-Mart cater to slightly more sophisticated tastes, selling crumbly blue cheese, wheels of Gouda, and red-waxed balls of Edam.

It's been a while since I've been to Wal-Mart (my discount shopping is generally done at Meijer or perhaps Target) but apparently they've decided to move in a different direction that I remember.

Milk Prices Rise to Record High
Associated Press

PARIS (AP) - Got milk? Well, you're going to need more cash these days to get it.

Growing appetites for dairy in Asia and limited worldwide supply are among a number of factors driving prices of the dairy drink to record highs.

In China and elsewhere in Asia, chains such as McDonald's and Starbucks are introducing unfamiliar taste buds to cheeseburgers and lattes, increasing the region's demand for dairy.

Rising costs of animal feed, shrinking European production and long- standing drought in Australia and New Zealand, the world's largest milk-exporting region, are also pushing up the price.

Paying more for milk is causing an uproar in Germany, where families consider providing children with an affordable glass of milk a fundamental right. It is also a concern for consumers in the United States and elsewhere in Europe.

Milk prices hit a record last month in the United States, where consumers paid an average $3.80 a gallon, compared to $3.29 in January, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It forecasts prices will remain high throughout the year.

Prices are likely to remain high worldwide until dairy farmers add more cows or shift production to powders, which are more easily traded than the liquid stuff.

International dairy prices increased 46 percent between November 2006 and April 2007, with milk powder prices increasing even faster, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization.

Companies like candy giant Hershey Co. that use dairy for their products are feeling the pinch. But in many parts of the globe, dairy farmers are cheering.

"Global demand has been extraordinary for American dairy products, but global supplies of dairy products have been exceptionally tight," said Michael Marsh, head of the Western United Dairyman trade group in California, the top dairy-producing U.S. state.

"From the American dairy farmers' perspective, you have almost a perfect storm."