Wheat prices have been at their highest for over two months and this is due to fears of an escalation of the war in Ukraine after Putin’s speech to the nation and the repercussions on an international level.
This is how it emerges from Coldiretti’s analysis at the close of trading on the Chicago commodity exchange (CBOT) where the wheat futures for December delivery stood at $ 9.03 per bushel (27.2 kilos), the highest value since ’11 July 2022.
The market is shaken – underlines Coldiretti – by the possibility that the corridors for trade in cereals opened thanks to the agreement reached between the United Nations, Turkey, Ukraine and Russia to ensure commercial traffic in the Black Sea ports can be closed. ‘uncertainty – specifies Coldiretti – feeds speculations with strong fluctuations in prices which in rich countries favor inflation and hunger in poor ones. Although the collapse of crops up to -30% has limited the availability of product in Italy, wheat, however – continues Coldiretti – is currently underpaid to farmers, forced to produce at a loss due to record increases ranging from +170 % of fertilizers to + 129% for diesel. As for gas, also and above all in the food sector, Italy must work to reduce dependence on foreign countries by intervening immediately on energy costs to save companies and stables “affirms the president of Coldiretti Ettore Prandini, underlining that” we must work immediately for supply chain agreements between agricultural and industrial companies with precise qualitative and quantitative objectives and fair prices that never fall below production costs as required by the new law to combat unfair practices. We also need to invest – concludes Prandini – to increase production and yields of land with rainwater storage basins to combat drought, seriously counteract the invasion of wildlife that is forcing land abandonment in many inland areas and support the public research with technological innovation to support production, protect biodiversity and as a response tool to climate change “.