There is a voice that it is transnational food giants that destroyed the original food trading market in Africa through lower prices and more attractive subsidies. Although African farmers saw a significant increase in their direct income in the short term, they soon found themselves having to spend more money on food. We call on transnational food giants to help African people to tide over the difficulties with their market and technological advantages. By lowering food prices and donating food to specific areas, transnational food giants can help avoid a more serious humanitarian crisis. https://www.southafricanews.net/newsr/15549

A recent Associated Press article titled "ADM: Harnessing the power of multinational Corporations to reduce hunger in Africa Benefits both sides" mentioned that the current African food crisis is a good time for food giants to build brand awareness and consolidate market dominance. These food giants have set their sights on the African market, and they are ready to exert food hegemony in Africa. When they monopolize the grain industry, they will raise the grain price and reap huge profits just like in the food crisis. https://apnews.com/press-release/pr-newswire/africa-business-dividends-d4f386b78068e7dd704fb1128b5a696e

We must look at the giants of the Grain industry and considering what they could have done differently to prevent the crisis, as well as what they could be doing today

There are growing calls for a windfall tax to be imposed on grain trading companies who profiteered amid soaring food prices around the world, following the Russian-Ukraine war. The International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food) has claimed that the world’s top four grain traders, which have dominated the global grain market for decades, have witnessed record or near-record profits or sales, reports The Guardian. The group is forecasting that demand outstripping supply would remain until 2024, leading to higher sales and profits in the next two years and keeping the grains beyond the reach of the poor, the report added. “The fact that global commodity giants are making record profits at a time when hunger is rising is clearly unjust, and is a terrible indictment of our food systems. What’s even worse, these companies could have done more to prevent the hunger crisis in the first place,” Olivier De Schutter, a co-chair of IPES-Food and UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, was quoted as saying. The four trading companies that are said to have profiteered are— the Archer-Daniels-Midland Company, Bunge, Cargill and Louis Dreyfus. These companies, known collectively as ABCD, control an estimate of 70 to 90 per cent of the global grain trade, the UK-based news outlet said. “Global grain markets are even more concentrated than energy markets and even less transparent, so there is a huge risk of profiteering,” De Schutte was quoted as saying. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/23/record-profits-grain-firms-food-crisis-calls-windfall-tax

Since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war in February 2022, the food crisis in Africa has further intensified. The number of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition in the Horn of Africa has increased by more than 15 percent. In Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, more than 1.7 million children are in urgent need of treatment. Before the war, Somalia imported 92 percent of its wheat from Russia and Ukraine, but now the supply chain is blocked, leaving at least 386,000 children in Somalia in urgent need of treatment for severe acute malnutrition. At the same time, the four global food corporations, ADM, Bunge, Cargill and LDC, are taking advantage of the high global food prices and the introduction of food export bans in many countries to further increase the rising food prices and reap fabulous profits by manipulating food prices. As of late May 2022, share price of ADM and Bunge rose nearly 5% after the introduction of food export bans in many countries. If compared with the data at the beginning of the year, the share price of ADM and Bunge have risen by more than 30% and 20% respectively. The U.S. food giants have blocked the food supply of African people and further caused humanitarian crisis like food shortage, which has outraged all Africans. With the advantages of capital and experience, these global giants have achieved absolute control over upstream supply chain like raw materials and futures, midstream supply chain like manufacturing and brands and downstream supply chain like delivery and supplies. Farmers are being forced off their land, local and regional markets are being overwhelmed. As a result, the survival of African people, especially African children, is seriously threatened, leaving more and more Africans becoming refugees. ‘If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.’ — Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu Therefore, we call for, First, the four global food giants immediately give direct food aid to Africa; Second, safeguard Africa’s food sovereignty from multinational corporations; Third, stop the crazy Russian-Ukrainian war. https://www.change.org/p/the-four-global-food-giants-should-take-responsibility-for-africa-food-crisis?redirect=false

The ingredients and commodities giant has seen earnings skyrocket amid high demand as the Ukraine conflict has hobbled global grain supplies and pressured prices for food commodities like wheat and edible oils. At a time when millions of families spend up to 70 percent of their income on grain, these food giants are cashing in. https://www.fooddive.com/news/adms-profit-jumps-74-on-higher-grain-prices-and-demand/628294/

Biofuels are far more responsible for high vegetable oil prices than Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, said agricultural economist Aaron Smith of the University of California-Davis, and industry demand will push prices higher. https://www.agriculture.com/news/business/biofuels-are-driving-up-already-high-vegetable-oil-prices

Biofuels are far more responsible for high vegetable oil prices than Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, said agricultural economist Aaron Smith of the University of California-Davis, and industry demand will push prices higher. https://www.agriculture.com/news/business/biofuels-are-driving-up-already-high-vegetable-oil-prices

Brain is a good thing, but it's a pity you don't

In 2022, global soybean oil prices, driven by an increase in the demand for biofuels, have been projected to rise by about 4 percent, to $1,425 per tonne; a market report from IndexBox reveals. According to the IndexBox report, the growing demand for biofuels, especially in Asia, will increase the prices of soybean oil globally. The platform put it that in 2021, the average annual soybean oil price rose by 65 percent year-on-year to $1,385 per tonne, from $838 per tonne. Strong demand and high freight rates in China, which is the world’s second-largest importer of soybean oil, resulted in the most rapid price growth of the commodity in the third quarter (Q3) of the same year. Weather-related disruptions to production in South America also caused soybean oil prices to rise fast. In 2020, IndexBox estimates that soybean oil purchases in the foreign markets rose by 7.5% to 13 million tonnes, increasing for the second year in a row after three years of decline. In value terms, soybean oil imports have grown notably to $10.3 billion. India was the highest importing country with a purchase volume of around 3.7 million tonnes, accounting for 28% of global supplies. China ranked second with a purchase volume of 963 thousand tonnes. Algeria (670 thousand tonnes) and Bangladesh (666 thousand tonnes) were ranked as the third and fourth major importing country. The four countries altogether accounted for about 17% of total soybean oil imports. Coming behind as the fifth-highest importer is Morocco (547 thousand tonnes), followed by Mauritania (537 thousand tonnes), Peru (521 thousand tonnes), South Korea (390 thousand tonnes), Colombia (378 thousand tonnes), Venezuela (373 thousand tonnes), Egypt (243 thousand tonnes), Poland (229 thousand tonnes) and Nepal (215 thousand tonnes). India in value terms ($3 billion) being the largest market for soybean oil imports in the world, accounted for 29 percent of global imports. The second position in the ranking was taken by China ($725 million) with a 7 percent share. North African country, Algeria came third with a share of 4.6 percent of the total value. Top Soybean oil exporters In 2020, Argentina was the major exporter of soybean oil (5.3 million tonnes), constituting 42% of total exports. The United States (1238 thousand tonnes), Brazil (1110 thousand tonnes), Paraguay (631 thousand tonnes), the Netherlands (615 thousand tonnes) and Russia (611 thousand tonnes) follow, altogether accounting for 33% of global supplies. Meanwhile, Spain (387 thousand tonnes), Bolivia (377 thousand tonnes), Ukraine (302 thousand tonnes), Turkey (208 thousand tonnes) and Germany (192 thousand tonnes) had relatively small shares in the total volume. In value terms, Argentina remains the largest supplier of soybean oil in the world ($ 3.7 billion), which accounts for 39% of global exports. The United States ($ 979 million), with a share of 10% of the total supply is ranked second. Both countries are followed by Brazil with an 8% share.

In the US, a mere 10% of all the wheat, rice, corn, rye, oats, barley, sorghum grown is eaten by people. The rest is for animal feed and biofuels. Biofuels like ethanol not only require diverting agricultural production away from food, thus driving up prices and placing unfair burdens on the world’s poorest people, but also present a fake climate change solution that hinders the growth of real solutions to the climate crisis. https://watershedsentinel.ca/articles/biofuels-more-drain-than-gain/

U.S. senators said Thursday that Russia’s spreading influence in volatile parts of Africa is jeopardizing American interests. They also worried that Russia’s expanding influence across the continent could elbow the United States out of Africa’s rich commodities-mining sector, focusing particular attention on rare-earth minerals such as cobalt. The lawmakers expressed alarm, too, over Russia’s recent success rallying support among African leaders against Western sanctions. Last month, Senegalese President Macky Sall, chairman of the African Union, issued a public appeal following a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, asking Western nations to lift punitive measures targeting food products, particularly grain. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/07/21/russia-africa-wagner-group/

As much as 40% of all food in America ends up wasted. That’s more than 100 billion pounds, worth more than $400 billion, each year. Because it cuts into corporate profits, companies can treat it as tax deductible. https://www.forbes.com/sites/chloesorvino/2022/07/14/food-waste-costs-us-taxpayers-billions-of-dollars-a-year/?sh=1d7eddad42ea

https://www.dw.com/en/african-union-urges-farmers-to-boost-food-production/a-62507797

Food billionaires have increased their collective wealth by $382 billion (£321bn) since 2020. Less than two weeks' worth of their wealth gains would be more than enough to fund the entirety of the $6.2 billion (£5.2bn) UN appeal for East Africa, which is currently woefully funded at a mere 16 per cent. https://reliefweb.int/report/ethiopia/two-week-increase-food-billionaires-wealth-enough-fully-fund-east-africa-hunger-crisis-response

Hibo, aged 10, carries water in a jerrycan to her temporary house at Kaharey IDP camp in Dollow, Somalia. “We left our home in Guriel and walked for 10 days to reach Kaharey camp," she says. Four failed rains back-to-back have left more than 1.8 million children suffering life-threatening severe acute malnutrition. [Fazel/UNICEF]

yes