This article is written as both a representative disconnect of the current administration, and also as a direct warning to readers of a never before seen increase in U.S. food prices. As grandma always said: “charity begins at home.”
Earlier today in Paris, France, Kamala Harris waxed as philosophically as she could about the inequities around the globe. Specifically, she proclaimed that world leaders have no excuse for some unknown “we” creating enough food to “feed the entire world” while children are hungry.
The words written for Harris to recite may sound good to an audience who values their own virtue through hollow soundbites and empty phrases; however, there is a very stark and concerning disconnect specifically when it comes to U.S. leadership making these proclamations. Watch 30 seconds of this (prompted):
“Why have we allowed so many of the world’s children to go hungry when we know that we produce enough food to feed the entire world. […] We must instead agree that these growing gaps are unacceptable,” Harris proclaims with maximum virtue-signaling emphasis in the effort to raise her approval rating.
Meanwhile, the Biden-Inflation cost of food in the United States is increasingly becoming a problem for working class Americans. Forget feeding children around the world, we are weeks away from people not being able to feed their own kids, and massive shortages in the stop-gap systems like food banks.
I’m not sure people understand yet exactly how desperate things are going to become, so let me be very specific for an audience of long-term readers who have my track record of accuracy to measure my predictions. Within the next 120 to 180 days, you are about to see butter cost $8 to 10.00/lb at your local supermarket. Bread will cost $6.00 a loaf, minimum, and other key staple item food prices, in the first two quarters of 2022, will increase 20 to 30% from where they are right now.
Maybe you don’t have kids at home, maybe you don’t pack lunches or care what the cost of a pound of bologna will be, maybe you are retired and the stove hasn’t been operated all year as you prefer to dine out…. but I can assure you, to a demonstrable certainty, that almost all middle class working Americans will be making decisions on what food products they can afford. Head lettuce at $4 to $5 each, eggs at $3/doz, milk around $6/gal, butter around $8/lb, and citrus so expensive getting an orange in your Christmas stocking will be a trend again in 2022.
The background conversations in the raw material, processing, manufacturing, wholesaling and food contract networks are enough to make you lose sleep.
[…] Tyson sent a letter to at least two regional distributors last month in which it said that prices on Ball Park, Hillshire Farm, Jimmy Dean, State Fair and all deli meats will increase by a range of 5% to 10.2% beginning Jan. 2 for “all retail customers.” … “We continue to face accelerating levels of extraordinary inflation,” Tyson said in the letter. “The sustained duration and significant impact of the inflation necessitates additional pricing action.” (link)
The traditional net terms at 30, 60 or 90 days are right now a hot topic, as producers and suppliers in the food supply chain can no longer commit to contractual prices for future goods delivered. The upstream price increases are so large the downstream suppliers will not contract on fixed prices, EVEN for the big box retailers.
Only those who know the scale of Walmart buying office pressure and dominance can appropriately contextualize a current WM supplier telling the behemoth to “go spit” if they don’t like the fact that price guarantees are no longer part of the equation. Yeah, it is THAT bad.
We are only a few months away from seeing massive inflation that will fundamentally change the way everyone looks at food shopping, or highly consumable purchases, and what the middle class formerly considered to be “luxury” purchases. Inflation, in the background, is going to come through the supply chain like a thundershock…. and it’s not just food.
This recent insider comment caused me to do some digging, and this is 100% accurate:
“I am an executive in the detergent chemical industry that supplies all of the major pharmaceutical companies, and am in charge of pricing and purchasing of large quantities of raw materials – both commodities, and surfactants, which are the main ingredients in detergents. Here is a brief overview of the situation.
Commodities, such as sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), sodium carbonate (soda ash), and other basic additives that adjust pH, thickness, anti-redeposition, rinseability, and other properties are up around 10-15% on a raw material cost basis from February. Not a single material is unaffected.
Citric acid is up nearly 40-50% when it can be found, at minimum. There is a nationwide allocation, which means that they give material to whom they feel like. One of the major domestic manufacturers of these materials shut down production of citric acids and other acidulants due to maintenance. Many companies in my industry are paying nearly 300% (not a typo – three hundred percent) increases on citric acid.
Domestic primary surfactants, which are made by a handful of companies such as Stepan Company, Solvay, Huntsman, and many more, are up 15-20%, due mainly to oil cost, transportation, etc.
Domestic specialty surfactants, specifically of a class called ethoxylated surfactants, are nearly gone. Not hard to get, not difficult to find – gone. In February, the ice storm took out piping and power lines along the entire gulf coast. The two towns that got hit hardest were Houston, TX, and a little town called St. Charles, LA. St. Charles is where all ethoxylation takes place in the USA for everyone from Dow to Sasol to BASF, and is the key process to make these specialty ethoxylated surfactants. Then, after 4 months of shutdowns, just when everything was getting back into swing, Hurricane Ida wrecked everything all over again.
Dow, one of the largest companies in the world, only restarted production at their facility there in early October.
The crisis of transportation and at the ports is only adding to this crisis of manufacturing in the chemical industry. News to everyone? It was never covered, not even once, on the news.
If truckers are going to be forced to be vaccinated come January, there will be even less trucks than there are now.
The wheels of the world are being purposefully and deliberately ground to a halt. We’d be better off with the mafia back in control of the ports worldwide.
This is going to get so much worse before it gets any better, and the administration in office is doing everything in their power to make sure it is as bad as possible.” (link)
And this on “Industrial Price Increases“:
Meanwhile, Kamala Harris is worried about feeding children of the world, while millions of working class Americans are worried about feeding their own kids?
Infuriating is an understatement.
Please prepare yourselves and your families accordingly.
The proactive window to prepare for what’s coming is approximately 60 days from today; and then options begin to diminish quickly.
This is all being done by design.