Annelena Lobb has this report on how rising corn costs continue to affect Mexico.

As the price of food staples continues to rise around the world, some in Mexico are worrying about another flare-up of the tortilla wars.

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Corn prices, which impact the price of tortillas, have been rising.

Earlier this week, a tortilla industry group warned of looming price increases for the maize tortilla. The rising price of corn worldwide has fueled inflation in Mexico, causing the central bank to maintain high interest rates in an effort to head off a wage-price spiral in other goods and services.

But the National Chamber for the Tortilla and Dough Industry told Reuters that prices may continue to rise due to the cost of both corn and fuel. Thursday, the Mexican newspaper Milenio reported that Economy Secretary Eduardo Sojo tried to assuage people, saying prices should remain steady. The government is also considering a possible subsidy for transportation costs.

A surge in the price of staple crops from corn to soybeans, as well as oil, has stoked inflation in many parts of the world. In emerging-market economies, increases in food prices can cripple the spending of large numbers of people, especially the poor, and lead to political conflicts. Last year, rising prices for tortillas led protesters in Mexico into the streets, which prompted the government to cap prices on tortillas at 8.5 pesos per kilo. (The projected increases ranged from 10 to 12 pesos.)

Friday, the Mexican central bank said it would hold its overnight rate at 7.5%, because of its inflationary concerns. The Bank of Mexico has held the rate steady since October, after raising it by half a percentage point, to prevent food prices from affecting other prices and wages.

As measured by Mexico’s consumer price index, annual inflation reached 4.55% at the end of April. The Mexican central bank has an inflation target of 3%, albeit with a range of one percentage point on either side to allow for temporary shocks from items with volatile prices. But this still comes back to tortillas — they make up the largest chunk of the food component in Mexico’s consumer inflation index. –With reporting from Ken Parks of Dow Jones Newswires