I am not an economist and, therefore, I will be careful not to debate issues that do not fall within my competence. However, nothing prevents me, as a concerned citizen, from making a few remarks based on common sense.
Posted at 12:00 p.m.
The impossibility for the Ukrainians to sell the wheat from their granaries clearly has repercussions on the European economy (among others) as much as the choice for many countries to partially or totally refuse to buy gas and oil from the Russians. The snowball effect is taking its toll and economies are faltering as speculation ramps up, which is probably the crux of the matter.
Concretely, wheat, in Europe, does not pass and neither does oil. In Quebec, the wheat consumed comes mainly from the Canadian provinces and the oil comes from Canada (Canada is the world’s fourth largest producer), the United States, the Gulf countries and a little from Russia and, consequently, the difficulties are not not the same. We are not, as far as we are concerned, faced with a delivery problem, but rather with a problem of one-upmanship which goes from the stock markets and the State to small traders who do not always adjust to the better their profit margins: “You know, with the war in Ukraine…” Snowball effect also guaranteed.
Total anarchy reigns over consumer prices, which will very quickly lead to more human distress among the poorest, bankruptcies of small traders, etc.
I repeat, I am not an economist, but I think that faced with this new ordeal, our governments could at least impose themselves and impose limits on price increases, just to put a brake on greed. This would save us from paying sums that have become astronomical for a basic basket, we would also save us from treating the oil companies while adding 29% in taxes on gasoline, from extending from $2 to $3 for a baguette ( double that of France) or washing down my last $37 airport bistro for a club sandwich and bottled orange juice, just to name a few.
The war in Ukraine does not explain everything!