Omnibus Russia Ukraine crisis
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Food prices hold near record as Ukraine war upends trade
Author of the article:Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
Megan Durisin
Publishing date:May 06, 2022 • 17 hours ago • 2 minute read • 31 Comments
Global food prices held near a record as crop trade is disrupted by the war in Ukraine, exacerbating tight supplies and stoking inflation.
Russia’s invasion has reduced exports from Ukraine to a trickle, curbing supplies from one of the world’s biggest grain and vegetable oil shippers. That’s sent buyers flocking elsewhere, while some nations are moving to restrict sales as they worry about depleting local reserves.
High fertilizer prices and weather worries are adding to the threat for global crop supplies, including drought curbing the U.S. wheat crop. That risks compounding a deepening hunger crisis. A United Nations food index eased less than 1% in April, holding near an all-time high.
“It’s really a minimal amount of decline,” Erin Collier, economist at the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, said by phone. “Prices are still definitely very high and definitely still very much a concern, especially for low-income food-deficit countries.”
Prices fell for major staples including vegetable oils and grain, while meat reached the highest ever and dairy rose, the FAO report showed Friday. The gauge had soared 13% in March, its fastest pace on record, in the immediate aftermath of Russia’s attack. It’s eclipsed levels from 2008 to 2011 that contributed to global food crises.
The slight decline in prices in April was partly due to falling demand for vegetables oil, and weaker corn prices. However, there are uncertainties about palm-oil availability from Indonesia, the agency said.
Officials in Indonesia, the world’s top edible-oil shipper, recently restricted sales of palm oil abroad. That adds to a rash of crop protectionism since the war began, with countries like Serbia and Kazakhstan imposing quotas on grain shipments. India is also said to be considering limiting wheat exports after severe heat damaged crops, while its government said Thursday it doesn’t see a case for restrictions.
“Such moves might benefit consumers in countries imposing the restrictions, but usually come at the expense of all others,” the Agricultural Market Information System said Thursday. “Past experience suggests that these trade measures will put additional pressure on available food stocks, push prices up and threaten food security for the poor.”
Surging food prices are piling pressure on governments spanning Sri Lanka to Peru. The inflation rate in Turkey is at a two-decade high, buoyed by rising grocery bills. U.K. retailers are also warning of higher costs to come, as supply-chain bottlenecks hold up shipments.
Countries continue to purchase grain despite high prices, Collier said. Dry spells hurting wheat crops in areas like Morocco may also boost their import needs for the coming season.
Acute food insecurity spiked 25% last year, before the war in Ukraine began, and the hunger problem is likely to deteriorate further in 2022, a report from the Global Network for Food Crises said earlier this week.
“We’ve got the breadbasket of the world being turned into bread lines,” David Beasley, executive director of the World Food Programme, said at a briefing. The war in Ukraine “is going to devastate the food security situation around the world.”
Food prices hold near record as Ukraine war upends trade
Global food prices held near a record as crop trade is disrupted by the war in Ukraine, exacerbating tight supplies and stoking inflation.torontosun.com
One of Sweden's largest tomato growers to stop cultivation during winter
Nordic Greens, one of the largest tomato growers in both Denmark and Sweden, has announced that they will not grow any tomatoes during winter in their Sweden-based cultivation because of the skyrocketing electricity prices. "We have 5 hectares of lit cultivation," Mads Pedersen, CEO of the company, says. "And we had to take that out because electricity prices are just ridiculous. We wouldn't have been able to pay for the increased cost. That's why we decided to skip this cycle."The company has around 160,000 square meters of greenhouses, of which 20,000 are equipped with LED lighting that is on 18 hours a day. Usually, between 30 and 40 tonnes of tomatoes are grown every week during the winter. For the first time in eight years, the company has chosen to cancel the seedlings that were to be planted in a few weeks.
"It hits us hard, really hard. It simply costs too much with the lighting, but it is still too early to say exactly how big a break it will be for us financially," says site manager Mindaugas Krasauskas. Mads remarks that if prices go down, they will start growing again. "But we usually would start another round in January. So, we'll see how things will be then."
According to Urdupoint, some 500 tonnes of tomatoes will disappear from store shelves this winter due to the suspension.
Source: aftonbladet.se
weather by design or accident the Western Europe nations have given poo tin a critical tool to keep them out of Ukraine. Over the last few decades the environmentalists have conned the people into believing it is better to buy all our fuel from Russia than use their own resources.
Sounds like the Ukes are kicking Russian ass Big Time-and the Ruskies are running for it.
Russia, the 2nd most powerful army in Ukraine.
Touche, but now it's a race against time and materials. In about 3 weeks or so the weather is going to turn and any kind of offensives are going to be much harder, and then winter hits. He has till the mud comes to see if he can force the collapse of the russians and take back mariopol.
And there's the question of supplies - the allies have been generous but many are signalling that they can't make enough to replace what he's using fast enough and they're nearing the end of the reserves they can spare. Will he have enough to make those 3 weeks really count?
Honestly tho in the end i just don't see how this ends well for the russians. I'm not a military expert but as a student of history it's unbelievably rare to see a side turn things around once they're in the situation the russians are.
Can you imagine the shit most soldiers would be in if the ran & abandoned materiel as shown in these pics?
Russian military equipment abandoned in Ukrainian counteroffensive – in pictures
Ukraine’s forces recapture hundreds of square miles and scores of equipment and ammunition from Russian troops
www.theguardian.com
Lend/Lease is kicking in and heavy equipment is pouring in not to mention the freebies Russia supplied. Ukraine doesn’t have any manpower issues just equipment shortages.They will keep moving forward, there is no choice, Its only a few weeks until rain turns the chernozem into muddy slime that eats equipment alive and there aren't any leafy poplar bluffs to take cover in.
Yeah but, In fairness tho, it's not like any of it is any good to begin with
But the allies are signalling that their stocks are low and their manufacturers aren't up to speed to replace what's being used just yet. I don't know how useful much of that russian stuff is going to be. (I mean i REALLY don't know the answer to that, but it does occur to me it didn't do the russians any good).
