Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Agflation
Reuters has a special coverage page dedicated to the subject. I tried to find an article that would be a good representation of what is going on but it is too damn depressing. A nice big map of the world in the middle of the page that you can move your mouse over To see where there have been riots. The next few years could get interesting.
Update: Via Atrios. There could be food shortages in the US soon.
Rye flour stocks have been depleted in the United States, and by June or July there will be no more U.S. rye flour to purchase, said Lee Sanders, senior vice president for government relations and public affairs at the American Bakers Association.

"Those that are purchasing it now are having to purchase it from Germany and the Netherlands, and that's very concerning," Sanders said.

She attributed the shortage to high demand for rye flour, which is used to make rye bread, and less acreage devoted to rye grain than in the past.

Grain prices have been soaring worldwide while stocks have been dwindling, causing riots in some poor countries.

In the United States concern is also growing over food costs. The chief executive of Costco Wholesale Corp (COST.O: Quote, Profile, Research), James Sinegal, told Reuters that the company is seeing some unusual buying with consumers stocking up as they fret shortages.

For bakers, rye grain is not the only supply stock that is declining. In the past the market has typically had a three-month surplus of wheat stocks to serve as a cushion against supply interruptions, but now the surplus is down to less than 27 days worth of wheat, Sanders said.

Heck, it may be an interesting summer.

No comments: