Public discontent over soaring food prices poses political risks for governments. There have been public protests against high prices of palm-based cooking oil in Indonesia. As the world's largest producer of palm oil, it is ironic that we have difficulty getting cooking oil, according to an official transcript. There is a risk that soaring food prices could lead to more protectionist measures across the world. They wrote that rising food prices risk more protectionist measures globally and could stoke food price inflation in Asia. Jamus Lim, an associate professor of economics at the ESSEC Business School, said that this is a real and present concern. The last time the world experienced an agricultural commodity price shock was in the aftermath of the global financial crisis in 2007. India and Vietnam restricted rice exports to combat food inflation. The situation is complicated by even more factors today, including COVID-19-induced supply chain disruptions and the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian conflict. Five countries have restricted or banned key agricultural exports in the last year. After the war in Ukraine began, most of them imposed measures to deal with price increases. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) says that Russia is the world's largest wheat exporter, accounting for one-fifth of the world's exports. In order to tame domestic food inflation, the country had introduced export quota and new taxes on wheat. The Kremlin banned wheat shipments to ex-Soviet countries after it launched its war against Ukraine. Most sugar exports were suspended. Gro Intelligence, a global agriculture data-analysis firm, wrote in a note in March that the move will further squeeze global wheat supplies at a time when Russia's war with Ukraine is disrupting exports from the region. Russia has banned the export of seeds from April to August and imposed an export quota on oil from that time period, according to the country's agriculture ministry. The ministry said on March 31 that the set of measures will eliminate the possibility of shortages, as well as sharp increases in the cost of raw materials and socially important products in Russia. According to the USDA, Ukraine is the fifth-largest exporter of wheat. Due to the war, the Ukrainian government has banned the export of food items such as wheat and oats. The ban was necessary to prevent a humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and to feed the country's population, according to the Associated Press. Although shipments have been disrupted due to the war, Ukraine is still exporting the cooking oil. A domestic shortage of cooking oil has prompted Indonesia to impose a blanket ban on the export of palm oil. Retail prices of cooking oil in Indonesia have gone up as palm-oil producers boosted exports on the back of rising global vegetable oil prices, according to Channel News Asia. The supply crunch at home was caused by this. The price of cooking oil in Indonesia has increased by 40% so far this year, according to a price monitoring page. According to the news agency, the price spike has led to protests and lowered the approval rate of the president. wheat and wheat flour exports have been restricted by the country. The USDA wrote in an April 28 report that the move was to balance exports with domestic food security needs. The price of wheat has gone up in the country since the war started. Russia has stopped wheat exports to the country. Many flour mill representatives expressed concern about the export restrictions, the high price of domestic wheat, and the lack of Russian wheat imports. Most of the country's flour mills are unprofitable because of the high cost of grains. If domestic wheat prices don't decrease, many of these mills are expected to cease operations in the next few weeks. 4% of the world's wheat shipment is accounted for by Kazakhstan. It is an important supplier to its Central Asian neighbors. Keep reading.
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