Tag Archives: Food Prices

German public on edge as Cost of Living rises

Revelations 18:23:’For the merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.’

Important Takeaways:

  • Cost of Living Crisis: Food Prices Up 40 Percent on Last Year as Potato Costs Rise Over 70 Per Cent
  • The German general public is facing a massive surge in the price of food — a considerable contributor to the ongoing cost of living crisis — with government statistics released on Monday indicating that the overall price of groceries in the country has risen by nearly 40 per cent within the last 12 months.
  • The increased costs could not come at a worse time for citizens, with officials in the country worrying that riots and civil unrest remains possible should people be unable to properly heat their homes.

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U.N. Warns: Global Food Shortages going from bad to worse

Revelations 18:23 ‘For the merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.’

Important Takeaways:

  • World food shortage going from ‘bad to worse,’ UN official says
  • Rising global food prices brought on by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and commodity shortages triggered by climate emergencies are threatening to “destabilize” economies around the world, a United Nations (U.N.) official warned.
  • The number of people acutely hungry have dramatically accelerated since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. While 135 million people faced acute food insecurity before the pandemic, that number has more than doubled to 276 million over the last two years.
  • According to the WFP, 50 million people across 45 countries are already on the verge of famine. Another 345 million people are approaching starvation across more than 80 countries, Husain said, a 25% increase from the start of the year.

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World Bank warns Food Prices could jump 37% is “human catastrophe”

Rev 6:6 NAS “And I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine.”

Important Takeaways:

  • Ukraine war: World Bank warns of ‘human catastrophe’ food crisis
  • The world faces a “human catastrophe” from a food crisis arising from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, World Bank president David Malpass has said.
  • He told the BBC that record rises in food prices would push hundreds of millions people into poverty and lower nutrition, if the crisis continues.
  • The World Bank calculates there could be a “huge” 37% jump in food prices.
  • This would hit the poor hardest, who will “eat less and have less money for anything else such as schooling”
  • Food prices are at their highest since records began 60 years ago, according to the index, after they jumped nearly 13% in March, following February’s record high.

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Prices of Food and Fuel have people protesting in Peru

Rev 6:6 NAS And I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine.”

Important Takeaways:

  • Peru president imposes curfew in Lima, Callao after protests
  • Protests had erupted across Peru in recent days due to a hike in fuel prices and tolls, during a time of rising food prices.
  • “In view of the acts of violence that some groups have wanted to create… and in order to reestablish peace… the Council of Ministers has approved the declaration of citizen immobility (curfew) from 2:00 am to 11:59 pm on Tuesday, April 5,” he said in a televised message.
  • Castillo’s action to impose movement restrictions — which will cover more than 10 million residents in Lima and Callao — was met with immediate repudiation.
  • “It is like putting an end to traffic accidents by taking vehicles off the roads.”
  • The country’s Consumer Price Index in March saw its highest monthly increase in 26 years, driven by soaring food, transport and education prices, according to the national statistics institute.

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Agriculture research shows Food Prices the highest in the past 14 years

Rev 6:6 NAS And I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine.”

Important Takeaways:

  • Food prices will see biggest increase in 14 years, according to Missouri researchers
  • According to the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute, a think tank at the University of Missouri, food prices will be at least 5% higher in 2022 compared to last year. That’s the biggest single-year increase in 14 years.
  • While prices will be up across the board, Westhoff said some foods will see especially high costs.
  • “We have seen much larger increases year over year for meats, for fats and oils, and for fresh fruits than you did for most other products,” he said.

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Middle East and North Africa feeling effects of War in Ukraine as prices soar for basic items

Rev 6:6 NAS And I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine.”

Important Takeaways:

  • War in Ukraine pushes Middle East and North Africa deeper into hunger as food prices reach alarming highs
  • As the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins, the soaring cost of food staples in import-dependent Middle Eastern and North African countries is creating ever greater challenges for millions of families already struggling to keep hunger at bay, the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) said today.
  • The prices of wheat flour and vegetable oil – two key staples in the diet of most families – have consequently risen across the region. Cooking oil is up 36 percent in Yemen and 39 percent in Syria. Wheat flour is up 47 percent in Lebanon, 15 percent in Libya and 14 percent in Palestine.
  • The cost of a basic food basket – the minimum food needs per family per month – registered an annual increase of 351 percent in Lebanon, the highest in the region. It was followed by Syria, with a 97 percent rise, and Yemen with 81 percent hike

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Expect Inflation to hit 10% analysts warn

Rev 6:6 NAS And I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine.”

Important Takeaways:

  • Russia’s Ukraine war threatens to blow US food prices sky-high
  • Inflation nearing a dangerous high, experts warn
  • It began with a rapid rise in gas prices. Now, with Russian oil banned in the United States and energy scarcity heightened globally, experts say shoppers can expect their grocery bills to rise in coming months
  • Russia and Ukraine produce 25% of the global wheat supply, according to the Observatory for Economic Complexity. While neither of these countries export wheat to the U.S. directly, their absence from the global market is expected to strain supply and push prices higher.
  • “It comes an absolutely horrible time for American consumers because we’re looking every day at inflation almost reaching 10%,” Dan Varroney

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Food Prices Hit Record High Year to Year 20.7%

Rev 6:6 NAS And I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine.”

Important Takeaways:

  • Food prices jump 20.7% yr/yr to hit record high in Feb, U.N. agency says
  • Higher food prices have contributed to a broader surge in inflation as economies recover from the coronavirus crisis and the FAO has warned that the higher costs are putting poorer populations at risk in countries reliant on imports.
  • FAO said its vegetable oils index rose 8.5% month-on-month in February to chalk up another record high
  • Ukraine and Russia account for about 80% of global exports of sunflower oil.
  • The cereal price index rose 3.0% on the month, with maize prices up 5.1% and wheat prices increasing 2.1%
  • AO’s dairy price index increased 6.4%, its sixth consecutive monthly rise, underpinned by tight global supplies

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“Inflation” – It looks like it’s going to get worse despite jobs report

Revelation 6:6 ESV And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!”

Important Takeaways:

  • Gas, food prices surging amid inflation tantrum: Can wages keep up?
  • Economists warn inflation getting worse despite ‘positive’ jobs report
  • Gas prices being such a public price have outsized their share of our budgets, what we spend,” Goolsbee told Fox News’ Bill Hemmer, “they have an outsized impact on consumer confidence.”
  • “In fact, it looks like it’s getting worse,” Moore added. “I mean, oil hit $90 a barrel. That’s the equivalent of paying about $4 to $4.50 a gallon.”

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Fertilizer shortage may lead to spring scramble on North America’s farms

By Rod Nickel

(Reuters) – A global shortage of nitrogen fertilizer is driving prices to record levels, prompting North America’s farmers to delay purchases and raising the risk of a spring scramble to apply the crop nutrient before planting season.

Farmers apply nitrogen to boost yields of corn, canola and wheat, and higher fertilizer costs could translate into higher meat and bread prices.

World food prices hit a 10-year high in October, according to the United Nations food agency, led by increases in cereal crops like wheat and vegetable oils.

The Texas Arctic Blast in February and Hurricane Ida in August disrupted U.S. fertilizer production. Then, prices of natural gas, a key input in producing nitrogen, soared in Europe due to high demand and low supplies. Global urea prices this month topped $1,000 per tonne for the first time, according to BMO Capital Markets. Russia and China have curbed exports.

In the United States, nitrogen fertilizer supplies are adequate for applications before winter, said Daren Coppock, CEO at U.S.-based Agricultural Retailers Association. Applying fertilizer before winter reduces farmers’ spring workload.

But with prices so high, some farmers are delaying purchases, risking a scramble for supplies during their busiest time of year, Coppock said.

Global nitrogen fertilizer sales were worth $53 billion in 2020, and prices are at least 80% higher so far this year, according to Argus Media.

Normally, MKC, a Kansas farm cooperative, sells fertilizer to farmers for payment up front with delivery months down the road, giving growers certainty about a key expense.

With prices soaring, MKC has scaled back its pre-paid sales out of caution.

“You just don’t know what the price is going to be. It has put a lot of retailers in a tough spot,” said Troy Walker, MKC’s director of retail fertilizer.

Delaying fertilizer purchases until spring runs the risk of further supply chain congestion as farmers rush to apply fertilizer and plant seed during a tight window.

“There’s going to be a lot of people who wait and see,” Coppock said. “(But) if everybody’s scrambling in the spring to get enough, somebody’s corn isn’t going to get covered.”

Wisconsin farmer Jim Zimmerman decided to bite the bullet and secure all his fertilizer for spring, this year.

“It’s next year’s prices I’m worried about,” Zimmerman said. “It could get worse.”

Nutrien Ltd, the largest U.S. farm supplier, has secured less nitrogen fertilizer than usual for spring delivery because manufacturers are making less available, said Jeff Tarsi, the company’s senior vice president of retail. Sales to farmers are likely to occur closer to spring than usual, he said.

The one nitrogen product that is running short in North America is urea ammonium nitrate (UAN), said Kreg Ruhl, crop nutrients manager at Illinois-based farm cooperative Growmark. UAN is a liquid form that is convenient for farmers to apply.

The U.S. International Trade Commission is conducting an anti-dumping investigation into UAN from Russia and Trinidad and Tobago, at the request of U.S. producer CF Industries.

Importers are reluctant to book shipments into 2022, because they may have to pay retroactive duties if CF wins its case, Ruhl said.

Farmers could reduce their fertilizer needs by planting more soybeans and less corn, but there is little evidence many plan to do so.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast U.S. corn plantings would decline to 92 million acres in 2022, from 93.3 million in 2021.

Waiting until spring to buy fertilizer could disappoint some farmers, said Matt Conacher, senior fertilizer manager at Federated Cooperatives Limited, a Canadian wholesale seller.

“My advice is, if you can get your fertilizer now, do so.”

(Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg; Additional reporting by Julie Ingwersen in Chicago; Editing by Caroline Stauffer and Lisa Shumaker)