According to FT data, the global community is once again beginning to build up food reserves.
After years of governments reducing their stocks and relying on global trade, there is now a trend towards restoring emergency reserves.
Countries, including Norway, Sweden, India, and Indonesia, are actively creating reserves of key products to prepare for potential unstable situations in the future.
“When the Cold War ended, we were the only ones who kept reserves because you never know what might happen,” noted Miika Ilomäki, an emergency preparedness specialist in Finland. At that time, Norway and Sweden began to follow this example.
The resurgence of food stockpiling is linked to a number of factors, including the pandemic, global anxiety over the conflict in Ukraine, recent unrest in Gaza, Venezuela, and Iran, climate change, and the use of trade as a tool of pressure. This situation also highlights deep disagreements in the global economic approach.
Government officials argue that in times of crisis, one cannot rely on the market, and food, like energy resources, must be recognized as a strategic asset.
However, economists and trade specialists warn that mass stockpiling in different countries could lead to a reduction in global supply, rising prices, and negative consequences for poor importing countries.
