• Ar
  • Es
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Feature
  • Videos
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Feature
Videos
Infographs
In Pictures
  1. Home
  2. News
  3. Europe
  4. Panic buying hits Europe again amid crisis in Ukraine
Europe

Panic buying hits Europe again amid crisis in Ukraine

  • By Al Mayadeen Net
  • Source: Agencies + Al Mayadeen Net
  • 18 Mar 2022 17:43
  • 1 Shares

Severe supply shortages will disproportionately affect poorer countries, owing to their greater reliance on Ukrainian and Russian wheat, according to media reports.

  • Partially emptied shelves at a Rewe grocery store in Germany (Reuters)
    Partially emptied shelves at a Rewe grocery store in Germany (Reuters)

Fearing food shortages as a result of supply chain disruptions caused by the situation in Ukraine, residents in some European countries have begun mass purchases of goods, according to a report in the British newspaper Financial Times.

Residents in northern Italy are stockpiling pasta in large quantities, pharmacies in Norway are out of iodine due to security concerns about Ukraine's nuclear power plants, and trade experts in Germany are reporting panic buying of goods, according to the news outlet.

Italian Sabrina Di Leto was quoted as saying by Financial Times that "I bought 20 packs of pasta and several kilos of flour last week in preparation for shortages. We're also looking at converting our backyard into a vegetable garden and a henhouse in order to be self-sufficient in case we go to war and food supplies become scarce." 

Ukraine and Russia continue to be the world's leading suppliers of wheat, as well as sunflower, rapeseed, linseed, soybean oil, and animal feed. Ukraine accounts for half of the world's sunflower oil exports, with Russia accounting for the remaining 21%.

See more: The global wheat supply crisis

 

Meanwhile, the same report added that severe supply shortages will disproportionately affect poorer countries, owing to their greater reliance on Ukrainian and Russian wheat than Europe. 

On his account, Secretary-General of the Norwegian Refugee Council Jan Egeland has warned that Somalia, which imports 90 percent of its wheat from Ukraine and Russia, may face severe food insecurity.

"With wheat prices soaring and drought worsening, the number of people that cannot be fed will explode," Egeland tweeted.

However, the report claimed that the panic has not spread throughout Europe. The Carrefour supermarket chain, which is present in France, Spain, and Italy, stated that there is no scarcity.

"There's been some people stocking up in France, and a bit more in Spain where we've sold out of sunflower oil in some places, but overall this behavior remains marginal and the market is functioning pretty much as normal," Carrefour added as quoted by the media outlet.

It is worth mentioning that the Director-general of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Qu Dongyu, has lately said that disruption to agricultural production in Russia and Ukraine could seriously exacerbate global food insecurity.

In a statement, he outlined how the two countries play a significant role in the world's food production and supply.

“Russia is the world’s largest exporter of wheat, and Ukraine is the fifth-largest. Together, they provide 19% of the world’s barley supply, 14% of wheat, and 4% of maize, making up more than one-third of global cereal exports,” he stated.

Food prices, which had been rising since the second half of 2020, reached an all-time high in February 2022 as a result of high demand, input and transportation costs not to mention port disruptions.

According to UN data, global wheat and barley prices increased by 31% between 2021 and 2022. Rapeseed and sunflower oil prices have risen by more than 60%. Fertilizer prices have risen as a result of high demand and volatile natural gas prices. As a result, the price of urea, a key nitrogen fertilizer, has more than tripled in the last year.

  • Ukraine
  • Russian wheat
  • Ukraine crisis
  • Food Shortages
Russia & NATO

Russia & NATO

As the Draconian Western-led sanctions on Russia exacerbate the economic crisis worldwide, and as Russian troops gain more ground despite the influx of military aid into Ukraine, exposing US direct involvement in bio-labs spread across Eastern Europe and the insurgence of neo-Nazi groups… How will things unfold?

Trending Now

All
iran

Iran aims to become top Russian grain importer: Ambassador to Russia

Most Read

Haaretz

Mossad agent killed in Italy part of anti-Iran mission: Israeli media

  • Europe
  • 3 Jun
In this image released by the Italian firefighters, a helicopter searches for missing passengers after a tourist boat capsized in a storm on Italy's Lago Maggiore in the northern Lombardy region, May 28, 2023 (AP)

Top Israeli intelligence official dead in Italy: Israeli media

  • Europe
  • 29 May
US linguist Noam Chomsky, who was among 550 academics who signed the petition calling on Glasgow University to respect free speech (AFP)

Chomsky: EU will deindustrialize if it abides by US-run world order

  • Europe
  • 31 May
In Ukraine, is the US facing its own Suez moment? Its decline as an imperial power has been developing over decades. It has won small wars (Panama, Grenada) but has lost the big ones.

America’s Suez moment?

  • Opinion
  • 30 May

Read this

All
A 3D printed miniature oil pump jack is placed in front of a plummeting stock graph with OPEC's logo, April 14 2020. (Reuters)
MENA

Oil production cut proposals stir in-house tensions within OPEC

  • Today
World intelligence heads hold secret meeting in Singapore: Reuters
Asia Pacific

World intelligence heads hold secret meeting in Singapore: Reuters

  • Today
Florida hit by seaweed full of flesh-eating bacteria
US & Canada

Seaweed full of flesh-eating bacteria swarm Florida beaches

  • Today
The Engineered Arts Ameca humanoid robot with artificial intelligence is demonstrated during the consumer electronics show in 2023 in US. (AFP)
US & Canada

Human extinction by AI ‘not that concerning… at least for now': Expert

  • Today
Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS