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Why You Should Plan for Food Shortages
The supply chain disruption impacts more than cargo
The supply chain disruption is more critical than you imagine. If you connect the dots, you will see that America is about to have a massive and frightening food shortage which is expected to last two years or longer.
This comes at a time when much of the US is experiencing drought which impacts wheat, barley, and bean output. Domestic production of durum wheat, used in pasta, is down 50% over last year. Other spring wheat crops declined by 41%. Canada’s production is down, too.
While the drought over much of the US is resulting in a decrease of yields, the real problem is in transportation.
Imports tied up at ports
According to the Department of Agriculture, the US imports about 20% of the nation’s food supply.
The list is quite lengthy — crops and food products such as coffee, cocoa, sugar, fruits, vegetables, wine, nuts, and hops.
You might be thinking this isn’t a big issue because it’s a handful of items and maybe you don’t drink beer or wine. But consider for a moment how many products contain sugar. The US spends $2.1 billion on imports of the commodity, a startling figure when you realize America is also one of the world’s top sugar producers. We can’t supply our own demand.
In 2020 — before the supply chain gridlock, the commodity was already in short supply. Even if the government allows for an increase in imports to meet the demand, the product will likely stall at the docks.
The shipping backlog isn’t only in America, as there are 584 ships worldwide waiting to offload cargo. The media talks primarily of the west coast ports where wait times are 7 to 12 days. The Port of Los Angeles has a backlog of 53 vessels. On the east coast, Savannah has 20 ships waiting up to 7 days. What we don’t hear is at Hong Kong and the Shenzen container ports, storms and COVID outbreaks have delayed 100…
