Global Warming Causes Food Shortage

[mdn2000]

Sadly the effects of Global Warming are being manufactured as reflected in the price of food. Who caused this, Congress and their Energy Policies. The shift to Ethanol as a replacement for gas is having a detrimental effect on the Consumer and a very profitable effect on Congress.

The policies implemented through fear of an oil shortage combined with Global Warming are causing a sharp rise in prices. Of course it did not help that Obama pumped over a trillion dollars into banks and investment firms world wide. They now have the money to buy up commodities and a riduclous price.

I did not know this about corn, the USA supplies half the corn to the worlf and now with our change of policy we are using corn for ethanol. 40% of our corn is being used for ethanol. Ethanol is less than 1% of our fuel yet it consume almost half our corn.

That should tell us that using corn for fuel is counter productive.

FT.com / Commodities - World moves closer to food price shock

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The US is the world’s largest corn supplier, meeting more than half of global import needs. Corn is an important ingredient in animal feed, and the tightening market partly reflects stronger appetites for meat in emerging markets. Record ethanol production in the US will also swallow up nearly 40 per cent of the US crop.

 

[Old Rocks]

It is not just agriculture that is getting hit by weather.

Weather Driving Prices For Bulk Commodities

Many factors impact the price of iron ore, coking coal and similar bulk commodities, but, save for the impact cold weather has on increasing demand for thermal coal, weather isn’t one of the first factors one thinks of as a price driver. However, the current market for iron ore, coking coal and thermal coal has been driven as much or even more by the effects of weather than steel production or power generation.

A recent report by Reuters describes how a prolonged monsoon hindered India’s exports of iron ore, forcing China to look further afield — including Iran, Ukraine and Russia — for supplies. October imports from India stood at 2.91 million tons, down 39% since September and 44% compared with the same period of last year, according to the article, as India’s monsoon season has dragged on for two months longer than seasonal norms. Iron ore in Goa hasn’t had the opportunity to dry out, impacting exports. India accounted for 6.4% of China’s total ore imports in October, down from 9% in September and almost 20% in May, before the monsoon season disrupted shipments.

 

[Old Rocks]

Commodity prices hit by weather events in 2010 | www.Artemis.bm The Alternative Risk Transfer, Catastrophe Bond, Insurance-Linked Securities and Weather Risk Management Blog

Commodity prices hit by weather events in 2010
by admin on January 5, 2011

The inclement global weather conditions experienced during 2010 have impacted many businesses and industries. One area that has been particularly badly hit was commodities. The prices that companies pay for commodities have been rising steadily and a lot of that rise has been due to the weather.

In the summer, Russian crops were hit by the heatwaves experienced across the country which pushed global wheat prices to highs from which they haven’t fully recovered. In Brazil, a lack of rain has limited the sugar cane yield of the worlds top producer. This winters extreme cold has impacted energy commodity prices across the UK and Europe. Frost damage (the extent of which is still unknown) in Florida will affect the price of orange juice due to crop damage from the colder than normal winter they have experienced. Finally, the recent flooding in Australia along with rains in Indonesia and Colombia, have seriously affected the worlds production of coal. In the case of Australia this has had a knock on impact to the steel producing industry as Queensland, Australia is the worlds biggest producer of the coking coal required to fire steel production plants

 

[Old Rocks]

The Hindu Business Line : Tea crop loss seen at 30 million kg this year

Our Bureau

Kolkata, Dec. 29

The country's tea production is likely to be lower by about 30 million kg (mkg) this year against last year's 979 mkg.

Addressing the annual general meeting of the Assam branch of the Tea Association of India (TAI) at Tezpur recently, Mr D. P. Maheswari, President of TAI, attributed the drop to crop loss of about 15 mkg so far in the Assam Valley alone, largely due to the incessant rain followed by pest attacks.

Barak valley

In some gardens, the crop loss was as high as 25 to 30 per cent, he said, pointing out that the gardens in the Barak Valley also suffered a loss of over 2 mkg.

 

[Old Rocks]

Extreme weather sparks global commodities rally - Commodities Now -

Around the globe, the weather has turned extreme, driving up prices for commodities running the gamut from sugar and wheat to heating oil and orange juice. Australia, for instance, is suffering from both extremes -- with drought in the west and deluges in the east. Heavy snow in Europe and sub-freezing temperatures in the United States are likewise fueling the weather rally in commodities.

Nicknamed the Land Down Under, Australia typically ranks as second in the league of global sugar exporters after Brazil, but rains have forced its top sugar exporter Queensland Sugar Ltd (QSL) to consider buying raw sugar from its South American rival and from Thailand to keep up with its export commitments to sugar buyers.

Brazil too has felt the effects of harsh weather on its sugar. Dryness has hurt yields and cut the volume of cane its crushers expect to process. ICE sugar futures eased Wednesday after India said it would allow some 500,000 tonnes of unrestricted exports, but were still hovering near a 30-year high.

Farmers across eastern Australia are assessing the effect of the wettest spring on record. The quality of the waterlogged wheat crop is suffering, and much of what is expected to be a record harvest has been downgraded from high-quality wheat used to make noodles in Asia and flat bread in the Middle East to grain fit for animal feed. And in the western part of the continent, drought has cut the annual wheat yield by two-thirds.

"Some sellers believe the global supply picture will remain tight in the near future and that the impact of the weather damage to the Australian crop will again become a central issue soon," said a grains trader in Germany.