It`s like a market in real life - sometimes up and sometimes down. However, there are so few people playing RT that when one big agri player gets active or one big taxer, we all feel the result.
On a side note, I am comfortable speculating that the majority of the demand on the food market is not the result of tax empires, but rather older, well-established empires looking for the chance to make even more money. These empires already have a ton of money, the market is bare of large quantities of minerals to invest in, and any money lost buying food and re-posting it at a higher price is not a significant loss if the post expires.
After three UWs in a relatively short period of time, even older empires need to recover and that means not engaging in risky bets on the food market. Agri empires also need to recover by being active and selling food. When the food doesn`t sell fast enough, agri empires end up under-cutting each other. The result is what the market is right now: $3/unit.
If there are errors in what I wrote, please correct it.
Thank you, WolfHaley