{"id":5745,"date":"2022-07-26T09:05:51","date_gmt":"2022-07-26T13:05:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/?p=5745"},"modified":"2023-07-13T11:24:09","modified_gmt":"2023-07-13T15:24:09","slug":"a-full-plate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2022\/07\/26\/a-full-plate\/","title":{"rendered":"A Full Plate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

World Market<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The United States has the largest economy in the world.  And our economy is completely integrated into the world market.  The keyboard I\u2019m banging was made in China, the t-shirt I\u2019m wearing in Honduras, the LL Bean \u201cwicked good\u201d moccasins that I live in are from Australia.  And the Starbucks coffee that is permanently attached to my right hand (or by intravenous connection to my right arm) is grown in Costa Rica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s easy for Americans to focus on our internal issues.  From gas prices to the fate of our Democracy, we worry about ourselves first; the rest of the world second.  But  the fact is that everything happening in the world impacts us as well.  So while we think a lot more about Roe v Wade<\/em> or the rise in gun violence in our cities, we can\u2019t just ignore what\u2019s happening outside of our borders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wheat and Maize<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s talk about wheat.  Wheat is a basic food source. Whether \u201cthey\u201d eat bread or cake, \u201cthey\u201d need wheat to do it.  The world top exporters of wheat are:  Russia (20% of the export market), Canada (14%), the US (14%), France (9%) and Ukraine (9%).  The world\u2019s top importers of wheat:  Egypt (10% of the world market), China (7%), Turkey (5%), Nigeria (4%) and Indonesia (4%) (OEC<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The war Russia is waging in Ukraine impacts everyone.  Many nations are boycotting Russian goods, and Russia is doing its best to keep Ukrainian wheat from going onto the market.  That impacts 29% of the world wheat market.  And since wheat is a basic world commodity, it impacts the cost of the piece of toast I just ate for breakfast, or the bun on that McDonald\u2019s cheese burger you had for lunch.  Less wheat on the market, means the cost of wheat for everyone goes up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Corn (some call it maize) is even more critical.  The United States leads world exports with 37%.  But Ukraine is third with 11.4% of exports (Russia is less than 2%) (World Top Exports<\/a>).  And corn doesn\u2019t just go on the table for human consumption.  As you drive across Ohio, most of the corn (now elbow high by the end of July) is feed corn, meant for livestock not your dining room table.  Take 11.4% of the corn off the world market \u2013 and prices go up for that, and all of the other food commodities that eat it to get to your refrigerator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Covid Continues<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

China is still battling Covid.  Just this month, the Chinese government shutdown the city of Xian (population \u2013 thirteen million) because of the new Covid Omicron BA 5.2 variant (CNN<\/a>).  Xian is a major exporter of computer software, lighting equipment and auto parts.  And there largest trading partner is, the United States.  So Covid is still driving economic dislocation.  Maybe it\u2019s why your car is still in the shop waiting on parts, or your paying premium prices for the new light fixtures for the remodeling you started during the Covid crisis here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Russian War<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The war in Ukraine is grinding on.  The Russian strategy seems to be to wait for the rest of the world to \u201cgrow weary\u201d of the cost of supporting Ukraine.  That cost isn\u2019t just the price for artillery or rockets, it\u2019s the cost to the citizens of the United States (and the rest of the world) for their basic goods.  We are all sharing in the battle to stop the Russian invasion of a sovereign nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Russian economy is wrecked from the sanctions, but Russian propaganda is doing its best to keep the world, and its own citizens, from talking about that.  Instead, they make \u201ca deal\u201d to let Ukraine get their wheat on the world market, then launch a missile attack on the docks where that grain is stored.  Or they hold an American athlete hostage.  Anything to distract from the real price the Russian people are paying for Putin\u2019s \u201cadventure\u201d in Ukraine, 15,000 troops killed, perhaps three times that many wounded (WAPO<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who\u2019s to Blame<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov is touring Africa, blaming the United States for rising wheat and corn prices.  If the United States would just lift economic sanctions on Russia, he says, then the cost of the wheat and corn would come back down.  And that\u2019s true, but for the \u201ccause and effect\u201d of those sanctions.  If Russia hadn\u2019t invaded Ukraine, there would be no need for sanctions.  Lavrov hopes that the African nations will overlook that little factor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s likely to get uglier before it gets better.  Just now, Russia is announcing that it will reduce the natural gas flow to Europe in half, to 20% of full capacity (Reuters<\/a>).  The people of Europe are participating in the war against Russia, through their own financial sacrifices.  How long they, and we, are willing to hang on, may determine the fate of the Ukrainian people, just as much as Ukrainian victories on the battlefield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ukraine Crisis<\/h5>\n\n\n\n