Economist Isabella Weber suggests storing grain to prepare for next global emergency

Weber, who linked corporate profits to inflation, shares how to prevent food shortages
– and price gouging

#Isabella #Weber, who ignited controversy with a bold proposal to implement
#strategic #price #controls at the peak of inflation
and identified corporate profits as a driver of high prices,

has proposed a new measure that could prevent food shortages and price gouging
in the wake of another disruption of the global supply chains.

Weber’s new paper, published on Thursday, looks at how grain prices spiked in 2022
as Covid snagged supply chains and Russia invaded Ukraine.

The price hikes helped to drive record profits for corporations
while pushing inflation higher and increasing global hunger.

In the paper, Weber and colleagues call for the creation of ️buffer stocks of grain ️that could be released during shortages or emergencies to ease price pressures.

Such a system would quell the volatility that is a hallmark of the grain market and keep food prices down,
said Weber, the paper’s lead author and an associate professor at the University of Massachusetts.

“Literally the worst of times for global hunger seem to be the best of times for the companies managing the global trade in food staples,” Weber said.

“It might seem utopian in the current environment, but there is such clear benefit in terms of economic stability that it’s not as utopian as it seems.”

Weber’s previous work on #inflation went viral after the Guardian published her opinion piece.

Her views were pilloried by some leading economists and rightwing media
but have since gained support from policymakers and other economists.

A new entity proposed by Weber and her co-author, #Merle #Schulken, would work similarly to how the #Biden administration has wielded the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to try to limit price spikes and collapses in the oil market.

When demand for oil is strong and prices climb, the government can use its oil reserves to help bring prices down.

When demand is weak and prices fall so low that pumping more oil becomes unprofitable, the government buys and stores barrels in its reserve.

In effect, a grain reserve could set a ceiling on prices to protect consumers, while establishing a floor to shield farmers when grain prices collapse.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/article/2024/jun/20/global-emergency-preparation-food-storage-grain?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other