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ARCHIVED - Cost of bread has already gone up in Murcia due to the Ukraine invasion
Flour prices in the Region of Murcia have increased by 7 cents per kilo in just one week
Just as the Region of Murcia is experiencing a resurgence of economic growth in sectors such as tourism and property, the Russia-Ukraine conflict has dropped the agricultural and food industry into the doldrums, with grocery prices shooting up and farmers left floundering to find feed for their animals and fertilisers for their crops.
The reason for the inflated prices is Murcia’s reliance on both Ukraine and Russia for staples such as grain, as Spain as a whole is deficient in cereal products. In fact, the warring countries are commonly known as Europe’s breadbasket, as they make up 30% of the entire supply.
The flour industry in the Region, which was already suffering due to soaring electricity costs, has taken another nosedive since the Ukrainian invasion, and the Regional Association has conceded that “the rise of up to 7 cents per kilo of flour in a week will lead us to have to raise the price of the loaves, or many bakeries will close.”
The timing could hardly be worse given the poor wheat harvest in the United States, and now the world’s first and fourth largest exporters have essentially been taken out of the market.
Shoppers aren’t only the ones whose pockets are being hit; farmers are still trying to deal with the effects of the ongoing drought in Murcia and now, there is a real possibility of running out of animal feed. According to the head of livestock of the Union of Farmers in the Region, not only have trade flows with Russia and Ukraine been interrupted, but cereal is not reaching Spain from surrounding countries because shipping companies will not traverse the conflict zone.
Before the problem reaches crisis point, authorities in the Region are searching for alternative suppliers in South America of essential products like cereal and sunflower oil, which many of the major supermarkets have already been forced to ration because of consumer panic.
The Region also exports to the conflict countries to the tune of around 47 million euros annually, but regional authorities are less worried about this than an impending crisis that could easily impact the local supply chain. With a shortage of grain arriving in Murcia, which is transformed into flour, which in turn is used to make bread... the Ukrainian invasion is already being felt in the pockets of Murcianos.
Image: Archive
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