Pivot Bio CEO Warns Diesel Price Surge Could Spark Vicious Cycle of Food Inflation

Record-high diesel prices are squeezing American farmers during the critical harvest season, raising the risk that escalating production costs will eventually reach consumers at the grocery store.

Pivot Bio CEO Chris Abbott joined FOX Business’ Taylor Riggs on “Mornings with FOX Business” to discuss how rising diesel and fertilizer expenses are pressuring agricultural operations and threatening to push food prices higher.

High diesel prices are driving up costs for farmers and threatening higher food prices. (Mark Mirko/Connecticut Public / Getty Images)

Diesel prices have climbed to a national average of $6.51 per gallon as global supply disruptions tied to conflicts in Iran and Ukraine strain fuel markets. U.S. farmers depend heavily on diesel to run tractors, combines and other equipment, making the surge particularly painful during harvest season.

“If you think about the ripple effect of that, higher diesel and input costs mean the marginal acre may come out of production or the marginal investment doesn’t happen. And so you get lower yield. When you get a lower yield, you get [a] higher price. So it can be a vicious cycle as input costs rise very quickly,” Abbott said.

Abbott noted that stronger corn prices could encourage higher productivity and help soften the blow, but he warned the pressure may not disappear quickly.

“We certainly look like we’re facing higher food prices and higher protein prices for at least a year or so to come,” he said.

The fuel crunch is hitting an agricultural sector already facing elevated input costs. Abbott said fertilizer prices are also moving higher as growers begin making purchases for 2027, adding another layer of uncertainty for farm budgets.

“There’s no other solution for our farmers in the United States… We must get the cost of farming and the volatility down, full stop. You cannot argue that,” Abbott said. “And so you need new technology. You need new support programs for growers to adopt innovation, to take that cost down.”

Abbott also expressed skepticism that short-term restrictions on diesel exports would solve the underlying problem, arguing that fuel operates in a global market and temporary supply controls would do little to address the structural pressures facing producers.

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