Food prices are likely to stay near record highs next year due to people stocking up, high energy and shipping prices, adverse weather and a strong US dollar, Rabobank said in a report.
“Inflation in this space is almost certainly not just ‘temporary,’” Carlos Mera and other analysts wrote.
Next year “will likely bring fewer COVID-related disruptions, but when it comes to agricultural commodity prices, any sense of normalcy looks unlikely,” they added.
A UN index that tracks staples is at a decade-high as the food supply chain has been hit by bad weather, supply disruptions and labor shortages.
That has spurred inflation around the world, causing a headache for central bankers and governments.
Disruptions and prices should ease next year, but only slightly, Rabobank said, adding that high food prices might lead to social upheaval.
“Social discontent is already being felt in a few countries, and more is likely to come in 2022,” it said.
Compared with existing prices, Rabobank had the most optimistic outlook on sugar, cocoa and corn, while it expected energy prices to support corn and sugar next year.
Wheat prices are expected to continue to climb in the first half of the next year, before subsiding in the second half, as demand for feed wheat drops, Rabobank added.
A slump in cocoa production due to poor weather would support the market, Rabobank said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said its materials management head, Vanessa Lee (李文如), had tendered her resignation for personal reasons. The personnel adjustment takes effect tomorrow, TSMC said in a statement. The latest development came one month after Lee reportedly took leave from the middle of last month. Cliff Hou (侯永清), senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer, is to concurrently take on the role of head of the materials management division, which has been under his supervision, TSMC said. Lee, who joined TSMC in 2022, was appointed senior director of materials management and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Thursday met with US President Donald Trump at the White House, days before a planned trip to China by the head of the world’s most valuable chipmaker, people familiar with the matter said. Details of what the two men discussed were not immediately available, and the people familiar with the meeting declined to elaborate on the agenda. Spokespeople for the White House had no immediate comment. Nvidia declined to comment. Nvidia’s CEO has been vocal about the need for US companies to access the world’s largest semiconductor market and is a frequent visitor to China.
Hypermarket chain Carrefour Taiwan and upscale supermarket chain Mia C’bon on Saturday announced the suspension of their partnership with Jkopay Co (街口支付), one of Taiwan’s largest digital payment providers, amid a lawsuit involving its parent company. Carrefour and Mia C’bon said they would notify customers once Jkopay services are reinstated. The two retailers joined an array of other firms in suspending their partnerships with Jkopay. On Friday night, popular beverage chain TP Tea (茶湯會) also suspended its use of the platform, urging customers to opt for alternative payment methods. Another drinks brand, Guiji (龜記), on Friday said that it is up to individual
STABLE RESULTS: Despite June’s lower consolidated revenue, second-quarter sales still reached a record high, driven by demand for chips for AI applications Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday reported consolidated sales of NT$263.71 billion (US$9.02 billion) for last month, its second-lowest monthly result this year. The world’s largest contract chipmaker said in a statement that its revenue last month only fared better than the NT$260.01 billion posted in February. Last month’s figure rose 26.9 percent from a year earlier, but slumped 17.7 percent from May, the company said. However, second-quarter revenue reached NT$933.8 billion, a record high for a single quarter, company data showed. The figure represented growth of 11.26 percent from the first quarter and 38.6 percent from a year earlier. Previously, TSMC said that
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