Blame it on the weather.
Whether because of drought in Russia, heavy rains on the Canadian prairies or floods in Australia, there is no doubt that global wheat crops have taken a beating this past year.
The multiple failed harvests and rising farm costs due to higher oil prices have pushed grain prices in major agricultural-exporting countries to some of their highest levels in years, with wheat among the most affected commodities.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation has reported that its world food price index hit a record last month after rising 3.4 per cent from December.
"The new figures clearly show that the upward pressure on world food prices is not abating," said Abdolreza Abbassian, an economist at the agency. "These high prices are likely to persist in the months to come.
"High food prices are of major concern, especially for low-income, food-deficit countries that may face problems in financing food imports and for poor households which spend a large share of their income on food."
Moscow banned grain exports last August after a drought severely cut wheat and barley yields, resulting in a harvest about 30 per cent lower than average.
After domestic Russian bread prices rose sharply, Vladimir Putin, the prime minister, railed against commodity traders for "cashing in on the circumstances". Prosecutors raided Moscow bakeries after allegations of price gouging.
In the western hemisphere, farmers in Canada's main wheat-producing province of Saskatchewan could only shake their heads as torrential rains prevented them from seeding millions of hectares of agricultural land.
"What is typically the driest province was never wetter," the Canadian environment ministry said in its year-end review.
Floods continue to afflict Australia, leaving much of the country's recent wheat crop unsuitable for sale to quality-conscious customers. Most of the grain salvaged from waterlogged fields is likely to be sold as animal feed.
Climatologists link the past year's extreme weather, including severe winter snow storms across much of North America and Europe, with the periodic La Nina ocean current phenomenon in which abnormally cold sea temperatures develop in the southern Pacific off Chile.
La Nina occurs every few years, but the one that formed last year is among the strongest on record. It still has not dissipated. La Nina and its opposite, El Nino, have been recurring with increasing frequency and intensity since the 1970s. Some scientists believe the trend is linked to global warming.
tcarlisle@thenational.ae
Company%20Profile
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KINGDOM%20OF%20THE%20PLANET%20OF%20THE%20APES
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Racecard
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SPECS
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
Company%20profile
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
Company%20profile
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Company%20Profile
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Confirmed%20bouts%20(more%20to%20be%20added)
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Company profile
Name: Tratok Portal
Founded: 2017
Based: UAE
Sector: Travel & tourism
Size: 36 employees
Funding: Privately funded
RIVER%20SPIRIT
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Types of policy
Term life insurance: this is the cheapest and most-popular form of life cover. You pay a regular monthly premium for a pre-agreed period, typically anything between five and 25 years, or possibly longer. If you die within that time, the policy will pay a cash lump sum, which is typically tax-free even outside the UAE. If you die after the policy ends, you do not get anything in return. There is no cash-in value at any time. Once you stop paying premiums, cover stops.
Whole-of-life insurance: as its name suggests, this type of life cover is designed to run for the rest of your life. You pay regular monthly premiums and in return, get a guaranteed cash lump sum whenever you die. As a result, premiums are typically much higher than one term life insurance, although they do not usually increase with age. In some cases, you have to keep up premiums for as long as you live, although there may be a cut-off period, say, at age 80 but it can go as high as 95. There are penalties if you don’t last the course and you may get a lot less than you paid in.
Critical illness cover: this pays a cash lump sum if you suffer from a serious illness such as cancer, heart disease or stroke. Some policies cover as many as 50 different illnesses, although cancer triggers by far the most claims. The payout is designed to cover major financial responsibilities such as a mortgage or children’s education fees if you fall ill and are unable to work. It is cost effective to combine it with life insurance, with the policy paying out once if you either die or suffer a serious illness.
Income protection: this pays a replacement income if you fall ill and are unable to continue working. On the best policies, this will continue either until you recover, or reach retirement age. Unlike critical illness cover, policies will typically pay out for stress and musculoskeletal problems such as back trouble.
The%20specs
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company%20Profile
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The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
THE LOWDOWN
Photograph
Rating: 4/5
Produced by: Poetic License Motion Pictures; RSVP Movies
Director: Ritesh Batra
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Farrukh Jaffar, Deepak Chauhan, Vijay Raaz
Company%20Profile
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The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
THE%20SWIMMERS
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The biog
Name: Marie Byrne
Nationality: Irish
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption
Book: Seagull by Jonathan Livingston
Life lesson: A person is not old until regret takes the place of their dreams
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
Company%20Profile
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