Global food prices rise to highest ever levels after Russian invasion

...the volatility in food prices was being felt everywhere. Countries that were particularly reliant on wheat from Russia and Ukraine may have to switch to the EU, US, Australia, Canada and Argentina for wheat supplies.

“Many of these countries are in north Africa and the Middle East where wheat often accounts for as much as 35% of total calories consumed and a majority of the wheat is imported, much from the Black Sea,” he said.

The Black Sea region has also been a crucial source for sunflower oil and the limiting of exports has meant vegetable oil prices rising by almost a quarter since February. Prices also rose for palm, soy and rapeseed oils because of increased demand.

Gl obal food prices rise to highest ever levels after Russian invasion

lots of these countries already struggle with food supplies, exacerbated by Covid.

remains to be seen how much this war will affect production this year, especially in Ukraine. right now most of the issues are in transport.

USA will see some price rises. some people will literally be short of food.

hope this thing gets resolved soon. very sad.

a reply to: ElGoobero

Shut up and eat your lentil porrige, peasant.

We need full stomachs to bring democracy to the world.

I'm sure our leaders will make massive sacrifices for us, Pelosi will eat the second most expensive ice cream, Mitch will trade in his shell for an economy model, Graham will use a little less makeup, and Biden will only shave 5% of Hunter's earnings in Ukraine for the next tens years. Everybody is making sacrifices. I'm sure they're also donating large sums from their personal weath too.

Then again 1/3 of all food produced in the US gets destroyed. That food produces 170 million metric tons of CO2....or 42 coal fired power plants.

originally posted by: lakenheath24
Then again 1/3 of all food produced in the US gets destroyed. That food produces 170 million metric tons of CO2....or 42 coal fired power plants.

We need to start burning food and eating coal.

We'll call it the Greta diet. A double win for climate justice.

a reply to: Ksihkehe


Landfills need to be vented else they would be giant bombs. Could easily turn them into powerplants. Then again, why over produce food that 1/3 is gonna be tossed out.

Ford wouldn't built 9k cars to sell 6k and chuck 3k in the ocean.

The days of the US being the 'breadbasket of the world' is most likely a thing of the past. The country is still experiencing an extended drought, and the lack of fertilizer will make this years harvest one of the lowest on record. The water shortage on the west coast is past critical, yet few talks about desalination plants utilizing reverse osmosis occur.

The domino effect of sanctions on Russia has the potential to send the world back to the Dark Ages. Biden has pushed the wrong button and all the world can do about it is hang on for dear life.

a reply to: ElGoobero

I think too that companies hike up their prices more than they have to in pursuit of higher profit.

a reply to: nugget1


Is that fact , or opinion?

US is 3rd in the world in total production.

63 million tons of which ends up in landfill each year.....

a reply to: midicon


You mean like when a container that cost $2500 last year, now goes for $15,000?

Or when minimum wages double?

Or you cant get enough foreign slaves...err illegals.... to pick your strawberries?

Or when you are beholden to your shareholders to make a profit?

You got a 401K? Do you know what companies your 401k invests in?

a reply to: lakenheath24

Nothing to do with any of that. There can be justifiable price hikes that's a given but companies can be guilty of unscrupulous behaviour in times like these in pursuit of more profit.

a reply to: midicon


LMFAO. You aint in bizness are ya?

Paying your employees double or paying 5x more for a shipping container isn't justifiable to increase their prices? Are you serious?

originally posted by: lakenheath24
a reply to: midicon


LMFAO. You aint in bizness are ya?

Paying your employees double or paying 5x more for a shipping container isn't justifiable to increase their prices? Are you serious?

Perhaps you missed that I said...

There can be justifiable price hikes that's a given

Edit to add...

Perhaps you misunderstood me saying 'nothing to do with any of that'. Meaning you gave justifiable reasons for increasing prices. My comment was about companies seizing an opportunity and capitilizing on a crisis.

a reply to: midicon


Perhaps you forgot what you wrote as opposed to me missing something.

You said "Nothing to do with any of that" in response to my list. A list you now say is justifiable.


So which is it?

a reply to: lakenheath24

I've edited before I saw your reply

originally posted by: lakenheath24
a reply to: nugget1


Is that fact , or opinion?

US is 3rd in the world in total production.

63 million tons of which ends up in landfill each year.....

Living in the PNW I can assure you we have been in a prolonged drought that has been reducing crop yield year after year, and that's a fact.
Farmers are being compensated for NOT planting all their farmland this year. Fact.
The sanctions put on Russia means obtaining the fertilizer necessary to grow crops is going to be very limited. Fact.
Farm equipment is gas powered, so even if availability doesn't become an issue price will. Fact.
People will be dining at local landfills in the future. Opinion.
Thanks for playing.

IMO this is just another "blame putin, russia, ukrainian crisis" to cover up the failed and harming policies of this administration.
with a good portion of companies taking advantage of a crisis to jack up prices.

look if we were IMPORTING food from russia and IF we were unable to get other sources of some supply for our farmers (ex fertilizer) near us , and/or we could not make up the difference relatively easily id agree with you OP.

but there are four cold hard FACTS that torpedo this claim of "russia fault"
1. we are the breadbasket of the world in many things. hell its common knowledge we PAY farmers/ranchers/dairy producers TAXPAYERS MONEY to keep prices at a level set by politicians. been that way for DECADES to a point you can find politicians themselves "not raising/farming" something to get the money even though they are not farmers in any significant way (except maybe they have a stake in one).

2. we DONT IMPORT any food (outside of specialty goods) in any quantity that would hurt us. In fact they IMPORT FROM US (especially grain).. so there is no logical sense that we would be hurt or prices go up like they have.. much less blame them for it.

3. specifically on the fertilizer claim . A component we do get from russia could EASILY be changed to a friendly/local source like CANADA. But more important we can MAKE IT HERE.. its the draconian environmental laws (with some help from companies that rather make more profits getting it oversees than fight for it here in bribery/political contributions they use for things they want) that prevent us from doing it here..

4. specifically on the claims of "environmental issues" is also a red (pardon the pun) herring . we have ALWAYS had drought , bad weather, whatever in parts of the US effecting crops.. just meant depending on area and what crop they grew SOME THINGS (let me say it again for those in the back SOME THINGS) would be more expensive but not others..
like a few years ago bad weather killed the pumpkin crop in IL (major producer) that pumpkins (and products) were much more expensive and limited.. but other things like tomato's were just fine. you know what.. you just ADAPTED and we STILL PAID FARMERS/RANCHERS NOT TO PRODUCE.

in conclusion this is just another blatant excuse to cover for this administration FAILURES , an excuse for companies to jack up prices (ON SOME THINGS), and to push an agenda(s).

nothing more, nothing less, sadly clearly seen tragic

scrounger

a reply to: nugget1

Your area is a tiny, insignificant amount of the total US food production. Fact

Farmers have been paid subsidies for decades.....Fact

85% of our fertilizer comes from Canada...Maybe 5% comes from Russia. Fact

Farm equipment is diesel powered, not gas. Fact (and that diesel is tax exempt...another Fact)

Thank you for playing....(what does that even mean BTW?)

It was inevitable. Russia is/was the largest exporter of fertiliser in the world. The fact that Europe and other Western countries let Russia become a country so many depend on for energy and food production astounds me. Food prices were already going up because of COVID, but combined with sky-rocketed shipping costs, the cost of oil & fuel are sky-rocketing, and now fertiliser prices are sky-rocketing. Is it any surprise food will be more expensive?

a reply to: DigitalSea

The Global food prices are also due to the sanctions and Russia's own banning of not exporting fertilisers.

Food prices were already going up because of COVID, but combined with sky-rocketed shipping costs, the cost of oil & fuel are sky-rocketing, and now fertiliser prices are sky-rocketing. Is it any surprise food will be more expensive?

The MSM are hoping the sanctions are working agaisnt Russia it seems to be having an opposite effect.

originally posted by: nugget1
The days of the US being the 'breadbasket of the world' is most likely a thing of the past. The country is still experiencing an extended drought, and the lack of fertilizer will make this years harvest one of the lowest on record. The water shortage on the west coast is past critical, yet few talks about desalination plants utilizing reverse osmosis occur.

The domino effect of sanctions on Russia has the potential to send the world back to the Dark Ages. Biden has pushed the wrong button and all the world can do about it is hang on for dear life.

The MSM wont admit that these sanctions are causing issues yet.

Biden has pushed the wrong button and all the world can do about it is hang on for dear life

The sanctions against either super powers were a mistake to begin with.