By Nicholas Larkin
June 24, 2022
Source: Bloomerg
Photo Source: Unsplash, Alex M.
From more food shortages to Ukraine’s crop-storage predicament, here’s a snapshot of the latest key food stories from around the world:
Not Enough Restaurants and grocery stores face shortages of popular foods this summer with global supply chains stretched by bad weather, Covid factors, geopolitical tensions and stronger demand. Products at risk include popcorn in the US, lettuce in Australia, onions and salami in Japan and bottled beer in Germany.
Another place where food problems are mounting is the Philippines, where the president-elect took the unusual step of naming himself agriculture secretary to assume direct responsibility over farm supplies. The country warned of a worsening sugar shortage after missing its output target due to extreme weather and expensive fertilizers. Imports have also been delayed.
Also in Asia, hopes of more palm oil in key grower Malaysia are being dashed because there’s not enough fertilizer or foreign plantation workers.
Ukraine Troubles
Damage to agricultural facilities in Mykolayiv, one of Ukraine’s top crop-handling ports, offered a reminder of the ongoing threat to supplies even as efforts to help grain leave the country continue. Mykolayiv usually accounts for about a quarter of Ukraine’s grain shipments and damage there could make it harder to restart seaborne trade that has been crippled by the war.
Ukraine Grains Shipments The country’s top grain-handling ports are in the southwest Source: UkrAgroConsult Note: National export volume percentage for 2020-21 season. Even once ports reopen, Ukraine’s ability to supply the world with grain may be limited. Harvests are starting, but silos are stuffed with last year’s crops and so farmers are running out of storage space. Output is already expected to slump, and grain quality and yields will suffer if growers are forced to leave crops in fields for longer.
On the other side of Europe, UK apple, strawberry and raspberry farmers are turning to migrant workers from places like Tajikistan and Nepal to make up for the loss of vital Ukrainian labor.
More Food for Thought Japan’s top potato chip maker is raising snack and cereal prices as much as 20% because of surging costs. One Chinese property developer is trying to entice farmers to buy homes by accepting wheat and garlic as payment. And in the drinks world, vegetable martinis are the latest craze in London. —Nicholas Larkin in London
Charted Territory Pesticide Use Netherlands and Ireland are among the biggest users of pesticides Source: Commissioner in charge of EU Agriculture Note: Shows 2019 figures for EU countries, data covers arable land and permanent crops.The European Union is sticking with a plan to halve the use of pesticides by 2030 even as agriculture comes under pressure from shortages sparked by Russia’s tactics in its war against Ukraine. The plan — which stops short of an overall ban on pesticides and focuses instead on organic products and other alternatives — would prohibit using pesticides in public spaces and around facilities like schools and hospitals.
What will you grow this season? Why? Which garden zone are you in?
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