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Food Prices Are Soaring Faster Than Inflation and Incomes

bloomberg.com

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Re: Food Prices Are Soaring Faster Than Inflation and Incomes

#121

Post by H8crilA »

xbmcuser wrote: post #33

As someone that is the food mostly spice trade prices have started going up in the last 2-3 weeks though prices have not even reached pre pandemic levels. Black Pepper prices have jumped 20+% in the last 20day that price is still 50% cheaper than what it was 4-5 years ago. The largest problem is not availablity of goods rather shipping. I would advise investing in shipping companies if you are active in the stock mar…

Surely you're familiar with the Baltic Dry Index, an index of shipping costs:

https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/baltic

Also, in case anyone thinks the current environment is crazy then check out the commodities bubble period of 2008 for that index.

Re: Food Prices Are Soaring Faster Than Inflation and Incomes

#122

Post by babesh »

I have been buying GSG for the last few weeks as a hedge. Beyond transient effects of COVID-19, more chaotic weather due to climate change seems to be wreaking havoc. Beyond that, our economy seems to be increasingly reliant of raw materials that are increasingly harder to extract or that we demand more and more of.

For examples of climate havoc, look at the drought in Taiwan and the deep cold in Texas.

For examples of resource contention, look at oil and even at nickel. Those batteries meant to replace oil in turn require cobalt or nickel (at least for certain applications).

The climate havoc and resource contention have much greater than linear effects. I don’t think most people realize this. Food shortages lead not only to higher prices but to civil unrest.

Re: Food Prices Are Soaring Faster Than Inflation and Incomes

#123

Post by TeMPOraL »

raul-pilla wrote: post #76
kingkawn wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You gotta feed people to be able to do the restructuring. Your logic is hollow to someone starving. Also impressive you’ve attempted to resurrect the idea of “civilizing” people.

So you're a proponent of the "give the fish" and not "teach to fish"? If the supplies flowing to them stop they starve again, so I am not sure you're right.

I think the biggest risk here - and the reason why talking about "bringing civilization" anywhere attracts strong pushback - is that historically, what happened was people ending up held hostage over supply of fishing equipment.

Giving hungry people fish obviously isn't a good solution, because then the fish giver becomes a SPOF. But also because the fish giver now has power over the hungry, and some givers will abuse it. Teaching people to fish doesn't work if they're still hungry. It also doesn't work if you're teaching methods that they can't employ. If your solution to the last problem is giving (especially licensing) them means to do fishing, then we're back to square one, with you being SPOF/risk of becoming exploitative.

The solution has to be helping people build self-sufficiency. That may involve giving money, or donating equipment and know-how - but with no strings attached, including non-obvious ones like "you'll have to buy spare parts from us, because your industry can't make them". The goal here is not absolute self-sufficiency (nobody truly has that), but avoiding the situation in which given society's affairs are being managed by outsiders, under threat of starvation or illness.

Re: Food Prices Are Soaring Faster Than Inflation and Incomes

#124

Post by sokoloff »

jhayward wrote: post #62
hellbannedguy wrote: post #46

The article blames transportation cost due to Covid, and an increase in raw food prices for the rise in food cost. In my little bubble, in the Bay Area, it feels like plain old greed, and opportunity, but not price gouging. When the government tells me where I can shop, along with my fear of how certain stores have dealt with Covid precautions, my buying habits don’t take price into account like before. The first few…

> When the government tells me where I can shop, Which government is telling you where you can shop? In what way do they do that?

With regards to satisfying hunger, if the government has closed bars and sit-down restaurants in an area, that shifts food procurement towards grocers.

Pre-pandemic, I suspect I purchased over half of my caloric intake from a food vendor other than a grocer. 15 years ago, that would have been 90+% (as so I expect the younger cohorts today would be similar)

Re: Food Prices Are Soaring Faster Than Inflation and Incomes

#125

Post by chii »

aww_dang wrote: post #55
cyberpsybin wrote: post #3

Here it comes. Cost of running money printer too hard.

If only they could print productivity to match.

That's what automation is - it's one of the leading causes of increased productivity in the last half century.

Re: Food Prices Are Soaring Faster Than Inflation and Incomes

#126

Post by inglor_cz »

babesh wrote: post #108
Uberphallus wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most cereal, corn, and even some fruit harvest is highly mechanized, whereas many other types of produce require manual labor, so it's really not surprising. In Europe, there are seasonal harvests that require surges of workers, who are sometimes legal and sometimes not. For example loads of foreign workers flock to the vineyards in France, Italy or Spain to collect the grapes for winemaking. It's around 3 weeks of w…

It’s amazing to me that the EU behaves a lot like the US in this regard. Same with Australia. I had no idea.

Well, it is still somewhat tricky to pick strawberries etc. with robots. There is R&D going on, but humans still win.

You need to take into account that income differences within the EU are enormous. Badly paid job in Germany still translates into very paid job in Bulgaria or Romania. That is why a lot of the seasonal workers come from the Balkans. Within a month they make enough money to live off for several months back home. No qualification needed.

Re: Food Prices Are Soaring Faster Than Inflation and Incomes

#127

Post by dagaci »

imtringued wrote: post #59
baybal2 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Last year we had: 1. Biblical scale locust infestation in much of Africa, and Asia 2. Floods in East Asia 3. Early winter in Russia, Ukraine, and North China 4. Failed, and missed sowing of grains in much of above regions 5. Shipping disruptions, and resulting food spoilage, and waste 6. Granaries busted, and people burning through many months worth of grain, and flour in much of third world due to initial COVID pani…

That aljazeera link doesn't sit right with me. I mean, just look at that first picture. It's a small child sitting in a sandy place with a stainless steel bowl with porridge like food inside. There is no civilization in sight. Maybe some village houses, which represent the bare minimum shelter needed. So now you get to ask yourself, should I feel pity or should I recognize that this child is not living in an environm…

For context the photo is actually from May 1, 2012: "two-year-old Aliou Seyni Diallo eats dry couscous given to him by a neighbor, after he collapsed in tears of hunger in the village of Goudoude Diobe, in the Matam region of northeastern Senegal"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Sahel_drought

they are thought to be becoming more frequent

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahel_drought

Re: Food Prices Are Soaring Faster Than Inflation and Incomes

#129

Post by inglor_cz »

bondarchuk wrote: post #105
octodog wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The snark in this comment is completely unnecessary. It is better for everyone if you make your point in a more constructive manner.

Rant incoming. I, for one, appreciate it. This thing on HN where you have to beat around the bush and phrase your sentences objectively and in a general way, when everybody knows that you are just talking about a specific instance, saying things like "if you [x] then someone may respond [y]" when it is clear that someone literally said [x] so you can just say [y] in reply.. All that stuff is incredibly tiring to read…

I understand your position, it is definitely more natural to answer less analytically and more emotionally.

But this is commonplace elsewhere on the Internet and you can see the results. Too often the argument deteriorates into ad-hominem mud flinging.

HN is pretty rare in its analytic culture. I appreciate it and enjoy the difference from Twitter, Reddit et al. enormously.

It is important to realize that we cannot really read the minds on the other side of the screen and a lot of our assumptions what somebody really wanted to say are just prejudice.

Re: Food Prices Are Soaring Faster Than Inflation and Incomes

#130

Post by chii »

pmlnr wrote: post #100
rcMgD2BwE72F wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The most wasteful are the richest though.

"The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money. Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boot…

So why did't the poorer man buy the more expensive boots using a loan, and then pay it off over the life time of the boots?

That would've prevented him from spending hundred dollars on bad boots over and over again. So i argue that it's poor planning.

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