As war continues to ravage Ukraine, Americans, particularly those who live paycheck to paycheck, are beginning to feel the financial squeeze on their food prices from the conflict half a world away.
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 – especially if Ukraine misses its wheat planting season.
“It comes an absolutely horrible time for American consumers because we’re looking every day at inflation almost reaching 10%,” Dan Varroney, a supply chain expert and founder of Potomac Core, told FOX Business. “Last month’s figures were close to 8%. And that means that consumers, including those that are living paycheck to paycheck, are going to pay more for food.”
www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/ukraine-war-russia-food-high
Farmers worldwide are feeling the sting of sanctions, as the Ukraine War has sent fertilizer prices soaring to new all-time highs, prompting concerns over a global food shortage.
Fertilizer prices last week were nearly 10% higher than the week before according to Green Markets North America Fertilizer Price Index, the highest price point ever recorded. Prices are now 40% higher than a month ago, before the invasion of Ukraine.
The surge in fertilizer prices reveals how dependent many of the world’s farms are on Russian exports. Countries already afflicted by food insecurity now risk further production bottlenecks and food shortages at the worst possible time.
Russian fertilizers are everywhere
The farming industry has been hit hard by the war and the political reaction in Russia to Western sanctions. Russia was the world’s top exporter of fertilizers in 2019, according to data from the Observatory of Economic Complexity, when Russia’s trade volume in fertilizer stood at nearly $9 billion.
finance.yahoo.com/news/fertilizer-prices-just-hit-record-174439996.html
- Oil prices are rising again, and there could continue to be big swings in both directions as the world deals with potential oil shortages.
- “The range of outcomes in any given two-week period is wide. We went from $90 to $130 per barrel in a month. We went from $125 to $95 in a week, and that is going to be the normal type of volatility,” said one chief investment officer.
- Oil jumped 7% Monday as the European Union discusses sanctions on Russian oil and after Saudi Arabia facilities were attacked by Houthi rebels.
Companies are hiking prices and adding gas fees as inflation and gasoline prices continue to increase nationally under President Joe Biden.
Grocery delivery company Instacart announced a gas surcharge on Friday, following companies like mobility service providers Uber and Lyft, Protocol reported:
The company announced in a blog post on Friday that it will charge Instacart users an additional 40 cents to each order that is passed “directly onto the shopper” to offset the rising cost of gas. The fee will roll out in the next few days. The company did not say whether the fee will last indefinitely.
www.dailywire.com/news/here-we-go-instacart-institutes-gas-surcharge-other-companies-do-the-same