‘Food Wars’ Are Imminent, Warns Top Commodities Trader. Expect Food Prices To Rise Dramatically

Food shortages are on the horizon, warns Sunny Verghese, CEO of Olam Agri, a Singapore-based agricultural trading firm, who spoke at the Redburn Atlantic and Rothschild consumer conference last week, who warned that the world is facing a period of “food wars” due to escalating geopolitical tensions.

“We have fought many wars over oil. We will fight bigger wars over food and water,” Verghese said, the Financial Times reported. He added that ‘food protectionism’ has forced some countries to increase domestic food supplies, exacerbating food inflation.

Verghese noted that a wave in non-tariff trade barriers in 2022 due to the war in Ukraine – 1,266 from 154 countries he counts – had sparked “an exaggerated demand-supply imbalance.” Price spikes due to things such as the Russia-Ukraine war or El Nino, and will not return to normal levels anytime soon.

Because wealthier counties are stockpiling more food, it has forced prices to remain higher. “India, China, everybody has got buffer stocks,” he said, adding, “That is only exacerbating the global problem.”