Joy wrote:Who knows how accurate this is? Seen on Facebook: "PSA for anyone who eats in the US or Canada. This year’s wheat harvest is shaping up as dreadful. Durum, used for pasta and bread flour, looks to be the worst in at least 60 years. Soft White Winter wheat, used for pastry flour, and Hard Red Winter [all-purpose] are facing the worst harvests since the 1988 drought. This is a good time to stock up and hoard, since the news is not widely known. Pasta keeps just about forever and a doubling in price is not inconceivable. Same with assorted flours if you bake at home, except flours should be stored in a freezer to prevent damage from Indian Meal Moth and other bugs. Bread also freezes quite well, and will do just fine for at least a year, probably two. Canola oil is also likely to see a price jump, as the crops across Alberta and Saskatchewan have also been clobbered. It also keeps well for years.”
Joy wrote:It is almost as if they knew what they were talking about! So, which is it? Is it "stupid to hoard" or is it a smart way to plan ahead and protect both your family’s pocketbook AND that first vice of your day every day?
ronnie_suburban wrote:Maybe the driver who was supposed to make the delivery went on a bender, stopped at a strip club and spent the middle of the week enjoying non-stop lap dances.
G Wiv wrote:ronnie_suburban wrote:Maybe the driver who was supposed to make the delivery went on a bender, stopped at a strip club and spent the middle of the week enjoying non-stop lap dances.
Does he need a drinking buddy?
ronnie_suburban wrote:6 days ago, a sign was posted at Whole Foods Deerfield indicating that they were temporarily out of Topo Chico due to "supply chain issues," a phrase that now carries with it the connotation of being covid related. 4 days ago the sign was gone and the display was once again fully stocked with 12-packs of 12-ounce bottles.
I'm not saying there won't be shortages and/or delays in all sorts of areas but I'm going to be skeptical, considering how easy it has now become for some businesses to hide behind the excuse of covid.
=R=
jlawrence01 wrote:There is a real shortage of truckers these days and that will cause some supply chain issues. Also, retailer's refusals to stock additional inventory to cover for these disruptions also adds to this.
Katie wrote:Funny that this should be the Washington Post's headline tonight:
From ports to rail yards, global supply lines struggle amid virus
"... The overseas work stoppages are just the latest twist in almost 18 months of pandemic-related manufacturing and transportation woes. The new infections come as two of the largest U.S. railroads last week restricted shipments from West Coast seaports to Chicago, where a surge of shipping containers has clogged rail yards."
ronnie_suburban wrote:Yeah, the 'news' is nearly complete and utter bullshit. The primary bottleneck in the global food supply chain is on the transit side and there definitely are delays . . .
tjr wrote:Hi, Cathy,
Interesting that Rosen's buns have been a sale item at several chains this summer for $2 or $2.49 while in the past they have been over $3 for an 8 pack. Maybe they're trying to take advantage of an industry-wide problem to increase retail market share.
The conversation that made the whole day worthwhile:
I stopped at a booth of bulk sellers of rice and grains. I inquired about the rice shortage, was it really real? I asked a guy who represented two different rice co-ops whose membership was 500 and 1500 (possibly 2000) rice growers. While in the USA and Canada, there is no shortage of rice. There are rice shortages worldwide due to crop failures in Australia and Asia.
He then outlined what was happening using the Phillipines as an example. The Filippinos eat rice 3X a day, it is an essential element in their diet. They normally buy their rice from Vietnam or Australia, where both had rice crop failures. Their need for rice is so great, they now turn to the United States for rice. They are willing to pay a premium to the domestic price to get this rice. It is his responsibility to get the best price for his rice co-ops, which presently is the international market. To sell domestically, he can only do this responsibly by offering the export price to domestic customers. While we have no shortage per se, the world market forces are influencing the final price of our domestic rice
Domestic rice customers are now being granted allotments instead of buying all that they want. Domestic customers who may have abandoned contracts in the past who may be revisiting his co-ops as a source are being turned away. Sam's Club and Costco are not used to being given allotments. They also don't accept price increases less than 60 days advance warning. The rice market is so dynamic that price increase of 15% in a month is not unheard of presently. When one of his regular customers advised they will accept no more than a 2% increase, then he declines to sell them rice. He advised the U.S. market, due to these allotments, will have no shortage of rice though it will be paying more for rice.
Recognizing these events run in cycles, I learned the next rice harvest is not until October 15th. He was of the opinion this worldwide shortage of rice will likely not ease for a few years. If there is another crop failure, then I can see that may continue. If there isn't, then I cannot see how this could carry on for years. We both agreed we would have to wait and see what happens.
I commented I had not seen bananas at Costco for the last few months. He suggested it could be a similar issue like for the rice. A cost increase Costco would not accept, which meant the product was withdrawn from their offerings.
Joy wrote:This is from the AP. The number of reasons for shortages just keeps growing!
"At the beginning of next year, California will begin enforcing an animal welfare proposition approved overwhelmingly by voters in 2018 that requires more space for breeding pigs, egg-laying chickens and veal calves. National veal and egg producers are optimistic they can meet the new standards, but only 4% of hog operations now comply with the new rules. Unless the courts intervene or the state temporarily allows non-compliant meat to be sold in the state, California will lose almost all of its pork supply, much of which comes from Iowa, and pork producers will face higher costs to regain a key market.
Animal welfare organizations for years have been pushing for more humane treatment of farm animals but the California rules could be a rare case of consumers clearly paying a price for their beliefs.
With little time left to build new facilities, inseminate sows and process the offspring by January, it’s hard to see how the pork industry can adequately supply California, which consumes roughly 15% of all pork produced in the country.
“We are very concerned about the potential supply impacts and therefore cost increases,” said Matt Sutton, the public policy director for the California Restaurant Association.