The risk and opportunities that arise from food inflation has not been thought about enough in recent years, according to Felix Odey, portfolio manager – global resource equities at Schroders.
Odey joined FTAdviser to talk about how the global food crisis is impacting economies and investors and how food production needs to become more efficient to meet the needs of the future.
With the crisis under further pressure since the war in Ukraine and with long periods of extreme dry weather in various regions across the world, food security and sufficiency is now at the forefront of people’s minds.
"When we think of the war, we have to think of direct impact on agricultural commodities and the indirect impacts like gas, which is an important feedstock in making ammonium based fertilisers and also potash," Odey said.
"We have seen the initial reaction on near-term supply of food and water but what I think the market is behind on is how the higher fertiliser price impact starts to play out for global yields.
"When we look at the market today we have not seen a massive supply reaction in terms of planting more or using more land. That is indicative of the fact that one of the things we are worried about in the food and water value chain is carbon emissions and deforestation.
"Where before we could react to higher population by increasing agricultural [output], we can’t do that anymore. As we see demand destruction from fertilisers that will start impacting yields and drive up prices even more."
By the end of this video, you should be able to understand the impact of the global food crisis on economies and supply chains, where opportunities lie for investors and how food insecurity needs to be tackled to meet the needs of the future.
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