Unexpected link between natural gas and food prices.

Bill Masen - September 18, 2021

Well here is something I did not know, C02  as a byproduct or fertiliser production is used in the humane slaughter of animals and extending the shelf life of food products.

Sooooo in the UK a surge in natural gas prices and  shortages of supply has caused two masive fertiliser plants to simply stop production which means theres a shortage of C02

https://www.gbnews.uk/news/government-says-energy-security-is-absolute-priority-amid-gas-price-spike-and-drops-in-russian-supply/129335

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So now hearing multiple energy (power and gas) companies in the UK  have gone bust over the weekend because of surging natural gas prices, this is affecting production of fertilisers and C02, and playing havoc with meat production and preservation. And the cost of vehicle fuel is surging.   Hoping for a mild winter.

From BBC

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58090533

Industry group Oil & Gas UK said wholesale prices for gas are up 250% since January – with a 70% rise since August.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) reported that in 2020, 60% of the UK’s natural gas supply was imported.

 

Good morning Bill, 

Had missed this post.  Read the initial link.

With this comment post mentioning gas prices up 250% and 70% since August, this just doesn’t sound like market economics at play. Heck, during the oil embargos, less no deliveries, it wasn’t a worse situation.

These BBC reports on the wholesale spikes indicate to me some opinion molding in preparation for perhaps “adjustments” to labor costs and to routine / leisure use of gas even befor winter.

Of course, this is “manageable” and, IMO, the UK is in better politico-economic shape than the EU.

 

So the Natural gas shortage globally has triggered bulk price rises of over 250% this year, thus affecting Fertiliser production and in turn the byproduct of C02 which is used in the humane slaughter of food animals, and extending the shelf life  of prepackaged foods.

So i thought I would take a look at what else is made from petrolium products and natural gas.

This PDF lists many of the products that may be affected by these gas shortages and price hikes.

https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2019/11/f68/Products%20Made%20From%20Oil%20and%20Natural%20Gas%20Infographic.pdf

Adhesive Air mattresses Ammonia Antifreeze Antihistamines Antiseptics Artificial limbs Artificial turf Asphalt Aspirin Awnings Backpacks Balloons Ballpoint pens Bandages Beach umbrellas Boats Cameras Candies and gum Candles Car battery cases Car enamel Cassettes Caulking CDs/computer disks Cell phones Clothes Clothesline Clothing Coffee makers Cold cream Combs Computer keyboards Computer monitors Cortisone Crayons Credit cards Curtains Dashboards Denture adhesives Dentures Deodorant Detergent Dice Dishwashing liquid Dog collars Drinking cups Dyes Electric blankets Electrical tape Enamel Epoxy paint Eyeglasses Fan belts Faucet washers Fertilizers Fishing boots Fishing lures Floor wax Food preservatives Footballs Fuel tanks Glue Glycerin Golf bags Golf balls
Guitar strings  Hair coloring Hair curlers Hand lotion Hearing aids Heart valves House paint Hula hoops Ice buckets Ice chests Ice cube trays Ink Insect repellent Insecticides Insulation iPad/iPhone Kayaks Laptops Life jackets Light-weight aircraft Lipstick Loudspeakers Lubricants Luggage Model cars Mops Motorcycle helmets Movie film Nail polish Noise insulation Nylon rope Oil filters Packaging Paint brushes Paint roller Pajamas Panty hose Parachutes Perfumes Permanent press  Petroleum jelly  Pharmaceuticals  Pillow filling 
Plastic toys  Plastics Plywood adhesive 
Propane
Purses
Putty 
Refrigerants 
Refrigerator linings 
Roller skate wheels 
Roofing
Rubber cement 
Rubbing alcohol 
Safety glasses 
Shampoo 
Shaving cream 
Shoe polish 
Shoes/sandals 
Shower curtains 
Skateboards
Skis
Soap dishes
Soft contact lenses 
Solar panels 
Solvents 
Spacesuits 
Sports car bodies 
Sunglasses
Surf boards 
Swimming pools 
Synthetic rubber 
TelephonesTennis rackets
Tents
Tires
Tool boxes
Tool racks
Toothbrushes
Toothpaste
Transparent tape
Trash bags
Truck and automobile parts

Tubing
TV cabinets
Umbrellas
Unbreakable dishes 
Upholstery
Vaporizers
Vinyl flooring
Vitamin capsules
Water pipes
Wind turbine blades

Yarns.

 

Europe and the UK getting jittery over energy prices, EG

FRANKFURT, Sept 20 (Reuters) – Around 310,000 German households face a 11.5% increase in their gas bills, data showed on Monday, as suppliers pass on record wholesale rates and add to tensions over the issue ahead of federal elections this month.

The Economist. IN EUROPE THE cost of electricity is soaring. Prices had been rising steadily this year, as economic recoveries got under way. But they have spiked in the past few weeks. Since the start of September, wholesale power prices in Germany and France have climbed by 36% and 48%, respectively. They are now hovering at around €160 ($189) per megawatt hour, a record level. In Britain prices are at a whopping £385 ($532), up from £147 a few weeks ago. 

UK energy Minister today told Parliament that there will be no black outs, BUT reports of people bulk buying Meats  like Beef, pork and Chicken are starting to surface, along with reports of people putting EXTRA orders in for Firewood and Coalite. Topped off with the UKs biggest provider of domestic propane and butane reporting a massive shortage of gas bottles to refill as people are stockpiling more bottles than normal.

On local community chat groups in this area people are trying to help each other find stockists of bottled gas who actually have stock.

 

https://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/mag-features/2021/09/06/630180.htm

Good afternoon,

The above link is predominently US focused but it is the basic thinking as to what’s pending outside the US.

 

Thanks for that Bob

 

This has been a roller coaster of a year for price hikes hasn’t it!? But not a fun roller coaster, but one that just keeps going up and up.

I saw another similar article today by CNN – Gas prices in the UK could trigger food shortages within weeks.

Soda pop uses CO2, so prices on that might go up. Might not be the worst thing for us though to make that more expensive and inaccessible, too many of us could go without soda for a while and probably be better off for it.

Hope prices don’t go too nuts for you all over in the UK and Europe.