Previous blogs have discussed the threat posed by a wheat virus, Ug99, to the globe’s wheat crops. It originated in Uganda, spread to the Mideast, South Africa and may be headed for Australia next. Now a new crisis has hit global wheat supplies and roiled the wheat markets.
Russia has experienced a severe drought in its wheat belt which has so reduced wheat production that Russia suddenly had to cancel wheat exports to other nations. This means that Russia’s normal export customers are left without a supplier and are scrambling to find new ones. This has understandably caused the price of wheat to leap higher due to the worsening global shortage of wheat supplies. It also has a ripple effect. Tightened wheat supplies cause price increases globally as the Russian shortage of wheat causes tightening of supplies all over the global commodity markets. It has even caused corn prices to go higher as some people who cannot locate wheat purchase corn instead. The links below detail the Russian wheat shortage, and how it causes supply shortages and price hikes in many other types of products (including pizza and beer) besides bread.
As was noted in my previous blogs about Ug99, the global wheat market is due for a steady erosion in supplies as the Ug99 wheat virus spreads to more wheat-producing nations. Climate factors such as the Russian drought only hasten the problem. Matthew 24:7 prophesies that there will be famines in the latter days before the return of Jesus Christ, and Revelation 6:5-6 specifically foretells that the wheat market will have shortages in the latter days and that wheat will be rationed by price. It looks like the trends that will fulfill this prophecy are already in place.
My thanks to the reader who tipped me off to this story.
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