slash wrote:Partly because of bad weather, but also partly because some major pepper growers have switched to high-priced cocoa, world production of pepper has been running well below worldwide sales for three years. Pepper is consequently in relatively short supply. The price of pepper has soared in response: it now equals that of cocoa.

Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
(A) Pepper is a profitable crop only if it is grown on a large scale.
Out of scope

(B) World consumption of pepper has been unusually high for three years.
Nothing is mentioned regarding consumption .

(C) World production of pepper will return to previous levels once normal weather returns.

Production is less because of bad weather and pepper growers switching to Cocoa...So return of normal weather itself will not ensure good pepper production..so not C

(D) Surplus stocks of pepper have been reduced in the past three years.

It is mentioned that pepper has relatively short supplies ..it means that surplus stocks of pepper is not available to compensate the short supplies

(E) The profits that the growers of pepper have made in the past three years have been unprecedented.

I'm not sure regarding my assumption but I think we cannot infer that growers made profits for 3 years ...Prices may have soared just a year ago...