Chapter 325: Hungry World
22 years, October 27th.
Day 11 of the locust outbreak in South America.
In just these 11 days, international food prices have skyrocketed to varying degrees.
Soybeans rose 173% to US$1,537 per ton; corn rose 133% to US$725 per ton; wheat rose 131% to US$806 per ton; and rice rose 138% to US$811 per ton.
As the four core categories in the international food market, all have experienced sharp price increases.
What’s even more terrifying is that this increase is still continuing.
After combining data from all parties, major grain futures research institutions around the world easily discovered that in the next 6 to 12 months, the global food gap will reach a staggering 180 million tons.
Compare the data from 21 years to the same period last year.
The Far East needs about 160 million tons of soybeans and corn, mainly for oil extraction and feed. This demand gap can be partially controlled.
Then came Japan with 139 million tons, Mexico with 115 million tons, and Egypt with 113 million tons.
Java imported 100 million tons; Italy imported 82.91 million tons; Spain imported 80.59 million tons; South Korea imported 79.30 million tons; the Netherlands imported 75.96 million tons; and Algeria imported 70.81 million tons.
These are the top ten food importers in the world in 21 years.
This year, due to natural disasters and rice blast, India is about to change from a food exporter to a food importer.
Brazil and Argentina, which are also core grain export producing countries, will see a significant drop in soybean and corn production due to the locust plague.
America and the Maple Leaf Country in North America, as well as Russia and Central Asia, have entered the autumn and winter seasons again, and there is simply no time to replant to make up for the production capacity gap in South America.
Now only Australia can barely squeeze out some production capacity.
Of course, in this series of bad news, there is one piece of news that can barely be considered good news, that is, Java does not need to purchase food internationally this year because Sapiens Company has sufficient food reserves of its own.
But just because Java doesn't have to import 100 million tons of food doesn't mean other regions will be better off, because Java is the world's largest palm oil producer.
To be precise, Sapiens is now the world's largest palm oil producer, and it is expected to produce 92 million tons of crude palm oil this year, accounting for about 94% of the world's total palm oil production.
The regions that import the most palm oil are India, the European Union, and America.
Now that food prices are soaring, the prices of edible oil and fats are also soaring.
It can be said that a single move can affect the entire body.
America can export, but there is a huge gap of 180 million tons in the international market, and even ABCD controlled by America cannot provide it at this time.
After all, the South American production area that was hit hard by the locust plague is the grain production base of ABCD.
In order to make up for the losses in the South American production areas, ABCD will naturally not release their stocks. Instead, they will add fuel to the fire and cause food prices to soar further.
…
Hong Kong.
As a free port and financial port, it was severely hit by the North American stock market crash, and the subsequent world food crisis also began to affect the prices here.
Tsim Sha Tsui district on Hong Kong River.
Inside a roast meat shop, the owner and chef Niu Dawang is teaching his son Niu Yinghua how to make various sauces.
Just then, his wife Li Caiyun walked into the store cursing and carrying a bunch of seasonings and vegetables.
"Mommy, what are you so angry about?"
Li Caiyun replied helplessly: "The prices of things in the wholesale market have increased again. If this continues, the price of our lunch boxes will also increase, otherwise we won't be able to make ends meet."
"Another price increase?"
"A pound of shallots costs 17 yuan, and a pound of sand ginger costs 38 yuan."
Niu Dawang frowned and quickly called several old wholesaler friends.
"Hello, Lao Jiang, it's me, Da Wang."
"Oh, it's Dawang! Do you want some chilled chicken? The price is going to go up a bit recently."
Niu Dawang's heart tightened, and he quickly asked, "How much is the price increase?"
"15.3 yuan per pound."
"So many?"
The wholesaler on the other end of the phone smiled bitterly and said, "It's not that I want to raise the price so much, but the purchase price is too high now. If I don't raise the price, I will lose money."
The two chatted for a few words , and Niu Dawang hung up the phone worriedly, and then called the wholesaler of white-striped ducks, chilled geese, frozen pork and pork offal.
Without exception, wholesale prices have increased by around 40 to 70%.
“No, we’ll raise the price too.”
"Dad, how much is appropriate?" Niu Yinghua asked quickly.
Niu Dawang took a pen and did some calculations in a small notebook before determining the extent of the price increase: "The three-in-one lunch box will be raised to 65 yuan, the roast duck leg rice will be 55 yuan, and the barbecued pork rice will be 60 yuan..."
"Isn't this increase too little?" Niu Yinghua was also educated and knew that this price increase could not offset the price increase of raw materials.
But Niu Dawang shook his head: "Just think of it as making less money. If the price increases too much all of a sudden, customers might as well buy groceries and cook for themselves. Maybe in a few months, prices will go down again."
"Hehe..." Niu Yinghua laughed dryly.
He doesn't think that prices in Hong Kong will fall within a few months. These days, he has seen a lot of reports and analyses on the North American stock market crash, the South American locust plague, and the South Asian rice blast on the Internet.
According to the current trend, it will be difficult for prices to return to previous levels within a year or two.
But what else could he do? As a member of the lower class, he had no ability to change the financial crisis, food crisis, local wars and the like. He could only watch everything happen.
Just as he was daydreaming, he was wiping the glass windows of the shop.
TVB reporters appeared not far away, interviewing passers-by.
An old lady with instant noodle hairstyle carrying various plastic bags was stopped by a female reporter.
"Auntie! Are you going home to buy groceries?"
The aunt nodded: "Yes!"
"How are the prices in the vegetable market recently?"
Hearing this, the aunt looked distressed: "Oh! Don't mention it. Fruits and vegetables, eggs and pork have all gone up in price recently. If this continues, no one will be able to afford vegetables."
The female reporter quickly asked: "Compared to before, what is the current increase?"
"Three baby cabbages used to cost 15 yuan, but now they cost 21 yuan. Pork used to cost 18 yuan per pound, but now it has risen to 27 yuan per pound..." The more the aunt spoke, the more excited she became.
After the female reporter interviewed the aunt, she also interviewed the surrounding shops.
Through interviews, it was found that rising prices have basically become a common phenomenon in all industries.
After all, rising food prices mean that the cost of living will also rise, but it is difficult for ordinary people's wages to increase.
What is even more frightening is that we are in the midst of a global economic crisis. A large number of financial institutions and small companies in Hong Kong cannot withstand the impact of the economic crisis and have shown signs of bankruptcy or layoffs.
This double squeeze is the general situation in the entire Far East.
Hong Kong is just a microcosm of this.
Of course, although life in the Far East was much more difficult, at least we could endure it by gritting our teeth. At most we would have to eat less meat, eggs and milk , but we could still fill our stomachs.
For example, Japan and South Korea, with the support of low-priced grain from America, managed to stabilize the price of staple food.
As for another large region in the Far East, they have considerable grain production and strategic reserves, so food is not a big problem; the only problem is a shortage of feed and cooking oil.
The most difficult area at this time was actually India.
The grain production has decreased by about 45 million tons compared to last year. Even if the Indians are more resistant to hunger, they still need to import at least 20 million tons to barely ensure that a large-scale famine will not occur.
Now, people all over the world are scrambling for food. India does not have enough US dollars, so it cannot buy much food.
At this moment, facing the situation of internal and external difficulties, Bodhidharma made a difficult decision.
