Ukraine war collateral damage and food prices

I’m stocking up on nonperishable food and other supplies in order to be prepared for scarcity this fall.

Both the fighting war and the sanctions war over Ukraine are disrupting world food supplies, and I think it can only get worse. Ukraine and Russia are important exporters of food, and also of diesel fuel, which is important in making fertilizer.

Food prices are already going up. Reasons for this include drought and floods in food-producing regions, disruption of supply chains due to the coronavirus pandemic and the power of monopoly agribusiness.

What this means is that there is no buffer to escape the disruption caused by war.

Maybe I’m wrong, but I have little to lose by being prepared. It is better to do too much than to learn the hard way I’ve done too little.

I also expect the war’s collateral damage to affect food prices, but there’s little I can do personally about that.

Russians will be affected by rising food and fuel prices, but both the USA and Russia have enough reserves and resources to avoid actual starvation.  The worst impact will be on poor small nations that depend in food imports. 

The price of wheat on world markets

LINKS

Global South Faces Brunt of Soaring Food Prices Amid War in Ukraine, World’s Breadbasket, an interview with Raj Patel for Democracy Now.

Hunger Stalks Central Asia as Ukraine War Unfolds by Vijay Prasad for Counterpunch.

The World Is Facing a Critical Diesel Shortage by Yves Smith for Naked Capitalism.

The World Is Facing a Critical Diesel Shortage by Irina Slav for OilPrice.com.

How the Global Fertilizer Shortage Is Going to Affect Food by John Hammond and  Yiorgas Gadankas for The Conversation.

Ukraine war imperils wheat, but North American farmers in no rush to pivot by Aya Batrawy, Steve Karnowsky and Rob Gillies for AP News.

‘Seismic waves’: IMF cuts global growth forecast over Russia war by Al Jazeera.

Tags: Food Supply, War in Ukraine