There are growing calls for a windfall tax to be imposed on grain trading companies who profiteered amid soaring food prices around the world, following the Russian-Ukraine war.

The International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food) has claimed that the world’s top four grain traders, which have dominated the global grain market for decades, have witnessed record or near-record profits or sales, reports The Guardian.

The group is forecasting that demand outstripping supply would remain until 2024, leading to higher sales and profits in the next two years and keeping the grains beyond the reach of the poor, the report added.

“The fact that global commodity giants are making record profits at a time when hunger is rising is clearly unjust, and is a terrible indictment of our food systems. What’s even worse, these companies could have done more to prevent the hunger crisis in the first place,” Olivier De Schutter, a co-chair of IPES-Food and UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, was quoted as saying.

The four trading companies that are said to have profiteered are— the Archer-Daniels-Midland Company, Bunge, Cargill and Louis Dreyfus.

These companies, known collectively as ABCD, control an estimate of 70 to 90 per cent of the global grain trade, the UK-based news outlet said.

“Global grain markets are even more concentrated than energy markets and even less transparent, so there is a huge risk of profiteering,” De Schutte was quoted as saying.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/23/record-profits-grain-firms-food-crisis-calls-windfall-tax

Among all the presidential candidates in this coming elections, there's only one person who has been thinking of how to feed the masses realistically.

His ame is Peter Obi

He has been funding so many grain farming and helping agricultural start ups even as a private citizen.

A vote for Peter Obi is a vote for bountiful food production in Nigeria.

ikeliesila:
There are growing calls for a windfall tax to be imposed on grain trading companies who profiteered amid soaring food prices around the world, following the Russian-Ukraine war.

The International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food) has claimed that the world’s top four grain traders, which have dominated the global grain market for decades, have witnessed record or near-record profits or sales, reports The Guardian.

The group is forecasting that demand outstripping supply would remain until 2024, leading to higher sales and profits in the next two years and keeping the grains beyond the reach of the poor, the report added.

“The fact that global commodity giants are making record profits at a time when hunger is rising is clearly unjust, and is a terrible indictment of our food systems. What’s even worse, these companies could have done more to prevent the hunger crisis in the first place,” Olivier De Schutter, a co-chair of IPES-Food and UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, was quoted as saying.

The four trading companies that are said to have profiteered are— the Archer-Daniels-Midland Company, Bunge, Cargill and Louis Dreyfus.

These companies, known collectively as ABCD, control an estimate of 70 to 90 per cent of the global grain trade, the UK-based news outlet said.

“Global grain markets are even more concentrated than energy markets and even less transparent, so there is a huge risk of profiteering,” De Schutte was quoted as saying.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/23/record-profits-grain-firms-food-crisis-calls-windfall-tax

This is why we need to key into Agbado and Cassava.

Golden Morn, Corn Flakes, Custard, Corn Whiskey, Wheat Bread etc should not be costlier than Ogi, Garri, Eko, Emu ogidi, Eba, Cassava Bread etc.

This is not just about saying the Chinese economy divided by Singapore's population is equal to Hong Kong's GDP.

We have to be practical, not sound like a "newspapers-stand analyst."

We must look at the giants of the Grain industry and considering what they could have done differently to prevent the crisis, as well as what they could be doing today

Record profits for grain firms amid food crisis

It is a crisis

Should these big 4 commodities firms be helped account for the excesses of the lose fiscal and monetary policies of various countries to help reflate economies dueto the devastating effects of the months long lock downs globally?

I forgot to add further pains by the sanctions placed by West on Russia for invading Ukraine. These have led to spiking energy prices fuelled not by demand but by economic damaging scarcity. The cutoff of Ukraine exports from the world, has led to a catastrophic rice in food prices which can be heard all over the world. Were these companies to blame on these big 4 companies?

When times were bad, did you care if they were making huge losses?

grandstar:
Should these big 4 commodities firms be helped account for the excesses of the lose fiscal and monetary policies of various countries to help reflate economies dueto the devastating effects of the months long lock downs globally?

I forgot to add further pains by the sanctions placed by West on Russia for invading Ukraine. These have led to spiking energy prices fuelled not by demand but by economic damaging scarcity. The cutoff of Ukraine exports from the world, has led to a catastrophic rice in food prices which can be heard all over the world. Were these companies to blame on these big 4 companies?

When times were bad, did you care if they were making huge losses?

You mean these four companies suffered losses while their stock prices continued to rise?

iyinborin:

You mean these four companies suffered losses while their stock prices continued to rise?

It is not their stock price I'm referring to but their actual profit and loss. I know Cargill is privately owned and not listed so any capital gains in assets is of no value to the public.

What I'm saying is that some of these companies like any other may make losses or reduced profits in lean times and bountiful profits in good times. Did the government come to their aid in lean times? No. So, why punish them now when their making record profits now ? I'm sure many wlll save a lot of that profit for the rainy day.