Shortages & The Failure of the Supply Chain

[Fwiffo]

India's rice export ban leads to stockpiling in Canada and around the world

"While India is far and away the world's largest exporter of rice, with more than 40 per cent of international trade in it, their primary concern is maintaining domestic supply, which is why they have had export bans in the past, she says.

'Bans are easy to explain to the public,' she said, 'we're not selling food abroad, we're looking after people at home. It's often a pretty blunt — not necessarily very effective — instrument but it has domestic political capital associated with it.'"

India First.

"n May Vietnam announced plans to limit its own exports to four million tonnes a year by 2030. That's down from more than seven million tonnes a year right now, and it's aimed at "ensuring domestic food security, protecting the environment and adapting to climate change,' the government said in a release."

Vietnam First.

 

[Fwiffo]

Olive oil prices surge over 100% to record highs and spark cooking oil thefts

Global prices of olive oil surged to $8,900 per ton in September, driven by “extremely dry weather” in the Mediterranean, according to the USDA.

www.nbcnews.com

As someone who uses litres of olive oil I can confirm this.

 

[Fwiffo]

What the Clorox products' shortage means for you

Lingering problems from a massive cyberattack has led to shortages of a slew of household items, the consumer products giant said.

www.nbcnews.com

Nooo.. I can't get my brand name chlorine products and sanitation wipes.

 

[Fwiffo]

India's soaring food prices put staple foods like tomatoes and onions out of reach for many families

Inflation and northern floods that have devastated this year’s harvest in India, the world’s most populous country, and sent prices of almost every part of a meal to record highs.

www.nbcnews.com

"During the summer, tomatoes went from 20 rupees (25 cents) to as much as 100 rupees ($1.25), while onions rose from 30 rupees (35 cents) to 180 rupees ($2.10), stretching families’ budgets to the maximum."

Welcome to the reality of first world countries!

"Experts say unusual rainfall, including deadly floods in the country’s northern regions, together with the effects of El Niño — a periodic natural warming in the Pacific Ocean that causes extreme weather around the world — have raised the prices of almost all groceries."

"To save on vegetables and cooking gas, which has also soared in price due largely to the war in Ukraine, Kumari now cooks the day’s meals all at once in the morning"

Climate change. Ukraine. You forgot China and Covid. The four things that can explain everything in your life.

"Even the family’s two pet rabbits — strays that Rohit adopted four months ago — are feeling the pinch of food inflation, switching to cauliflower after their usual spinach went up three times in price."

I teach you how to butcher a rabbit.

 

[Fwiffo]

Olive oil price skyrockets as Spanish drought bites

Spain is the biggest olive oil producer. Two years of drought there are affecting prices worldwide.

www.bbc.com

Nooooo...time to stockpile litres of this.

I've noticed store brands are coming out with olive oil "blends". Forget about cold pressed or extra virgin, let's mix some random oil with olive oil.

 

[Fwiffo]

Ikea warns of product delays after Red Sea attacks

The Swedish flat-pack furniture firm says some goods may not be available after rebel strikes on ships.

www.bbc.com

If only those Iran backed Houthi rebels would stop boarding merchant vessels and firing drones at Israel. Now my low cost made in China furniture won't make it under my Christian tree on time.

 

[Fwiffo]

Bengaluru: Water crisis shakes India’s Silicon Valley

With long queues at public taps and fewer showers, Bengaluru's residents reel under a water shortage.

www.bbc.com

"The southern metropolis - once called a pensioners' paradise because of its cool weather and lush gardens - is now more famous as India's info-tech hub where companies like Infosys, Wipro and hundreds of start-ups have plush offices. But years of rapid, often unplanned, expansion have taken a toll, and the city now appears bursting at its seams.

In some apartments, residents' welfare associations have asked people to wash their cars not more than twice a week, use just half a bucket of water to bathe and use half-flush in the toilet.

In the meantime, Ms Pancholi has a question for the city's current and former administrators: Why were buildings constructed before creation of basic infrastructure like providing potable water?'"

Hopefully these tech companies use the cloud so they can suck energy and water for cooling from some place that has plentiful amounts of both.

 

[Fwiffo]

Taps have run dry across South Africa's largest city in an unprecedented water crisis

A country already famous for its hourslong electricity shortages is now adopting a term called “watershedding” — the practice of going without water.

apnews.com

And here I thought it was only Cape Town.

 

[Fwiffo]

Canada's maple syrup reserve hits 16-year low

Warm weather and rising demand have sapped up the syrup supply, but producers say not to panic.

www.bbc.com

"The reserve, located in Quebec, is designed to hold 133 million pounds of maple syrup at any given year. But in 2023, the supply fell to 6.9 million pounds (3.1 million kg)."

The strategic maple syrup reserve.

 

[Fwiffo]

US egg prices increase to record high, dashing hopes of cheap eggs by Easter

The increase reported Thursday in the Consumer Price Index means consumers and businesses that rely on eggs might not get much immediate relief

www.theglobeandmail.com

"In the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture numbers, there were only about 285 million hens laying eggs nationwide as of March 1, Before the outbreak, the flock typically numbered more than 315 million."

Import 30 million hens. Problem solved. I can do maths like McNamara during the Vietnam war.