-Flour price up 15%, NAMILCO
The National Milling Company of Guyana Inc (NAMILCO) has announced a 15% increase in the price of flour. This comes as the world wheat price has spiked by 40% following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine together account for 25% of world wheat exports. Fighting is directly preventing ships from docking at Ukraine ports and exporting its wheat which accounts for 8% of world exports.
Russia and Ukraine are among the world’s leading exporters of many food staples including Barley, Sunflower Oil, Wheat, Corn and more. Prices for all these food staples are expected to remain very high as countries worldwide scramble to secure supplies for their populations. Russia has also indicated that it might ban exports of key agricultural products to western countries in retaliation for sanctions.
The world is already feeling the squeeze of inflated gas prices due to the war in Ukraine and now a real risk of global food shortages will serve to make a bad situation much worse. Guyanese who already faced 11% inflation in food prices last year will find it very difficult to adjust to these inflated prices.
