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Introduction
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Wheat
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Corn
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Soybean
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Meat Production
Atlas of Food
Global food prices are particularly sensitive to weather and government policy in a few key regions. This report highlights those locations and explores the relationship between wheat, corn, soybeans, pork, beef and poultry.
Introduction
The cultivation of crops was the basis for the earliest societies. Through agriculture, producers first developed the concept of forward sales, and governments quickly learned the importance of food security.
In arid, populous countries like Egypt, state grain boards exist to import wheat and provide subsidized bread. In China, the government's commitment to stockpiling is informed by several provinces’ experience of famine 65 years ago.
Russia’s invasion forced Ukraine to close Black Sea ports that had handled some 16% of global corn exports. The subsequent price spike for many agricultural commodities showed the entire supply chain’s sensitivity to the price of corn, which serves as the main input for feeding livestock.
The Atlas of Food shows the changes to key trade flows, such as Ukraine’s supply of corn to China. It also represents the crop cycle in each month for the key producers, illustrating, for example, why traders pay such close attention to Brazil’s weather in April and May.
Demand for corn, as well as soybeans, has accelerated in response to the rising per capita consumption of proteins. People typically spend more on pork, beef and chicken as they become more prosperous. The feed conversion ratio for swine and cattle is higher than two – meaning that many pork producers need to give a pig at least 2 kg of feed to produce 1 kg of meat.
The Atlas of Food charts the recent price history for these key commodities, showing the interconnection between crops and the protein markets for which they are the main inputs. It also shows their sensitivity to government policies on the biofuel sector, where corn and soybean oil are key feedstocks.