WTO warns sanctions against Russia from Western countries are driving up global food prices, as Black Sea ports used to export grain remain blocked which is crucial for survival for 35 African countries. China’s pig farmers, suffering record losses due to surging feed costs, switching to lower quality grain from pricier soymeal. Sanctions on world's #3 & #2 potash fertilizer producers Belarus & Russia drives high costs for farmers worldwide with high diesel prices making it worse. Nearly 100,000 Italian farms are on the verge of closure due to skyrocketing diesel, fertilizers, fodder and seeds costs. 70% of aggregate potato production in Cyprus has been destroyed due to frost wave. Maine, US potato growers expecting hit after potato processing plant.

Shortages of fertilizer due to sanctions on major ammonia (NH3) and potash fertilizer producers Russia and Belarus is worsening. The Ghana Cocoa Board warns of fertilizer shortage for farmers. NH3 on Tampa US Price Index surge to record high of $1,625 per metric ton. Virginia, US farmers say NH3 and phosphate fertilizer prices are not sustainable. If Russia bans grain exports to the world due to all out sanctions by the west, severe grain shortages will result. Pennsylvania, US farmers see 70% fertilizer price increase in last year. Black Sea cut-off for trade, shippers say Baltic Sea even more costly to get Russian and Belarussian fertilizer.

My brother Mike at Rethinking The Dollar published this huge development in Russia covering gold and the ruble. I recommend you watch it here. You can see more of his presentations @ https://news.1rj.ru/str/rethinkingthedollar

US - A new congressional bill to launch a large-scale test of digital dollars as an alternative to credit cards or crypto. US digital dollar could be used for taxation and other purposes, such as tracking spending habits, but many people may be uncomfortable with the degree of surveillance that would be possible. Singapore and Cambodia to create CBDC to fortify E-Commerce. The central banks of Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, and South Africa alongside the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) have jointly developed prototypes for a common platform enabling international settlements using multiple CBDC's. The UAE and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region are technologically equipped to roll out CBDC's. Banco Central do Brasil (BCB) has selected Giesecke+Devrient’s (G+D’s) CBDC solution Filia for its dual offline payment capabilities.

Russian Central Bank pegged 1 gram of gold to 5,000 rubles. Russia will not supply gas for free if the EU refuses to pay in rubles. The sanctioning countries that have breached all their natural gas contracts with Russia's Gazprom who is is expected to develop a "transparent and understandable system" in both technical and logistical terms. Gazprom's new system will move the ruble to be tied to energy and technically in gold. As a result, the ruble began a massive strengthening vs the USD and is almost back to pre-sanction levels. Russian gold and silver refineries have been banned from the largest global trading markets in gold and silver.

Avian influenza (bird flu) continues to spread in US and UK, forcing farmers to cull flocks. USA- Iowa, commercial poultry facilities have culled nearly 1.53 million birds this week. Total birds died or culled is near 15 million in the US in the past 2 months. The USDA wants the birds in the infected facilities to be destroyed within 24 hours to prevent the virus' spread. 150,000 birds have been culled in Suffolk, UK in March. Albania is reporting pelican and chicken deaths, with culling started for infected birds. Canadian farmers taking precautions. The risk to humans remains low.

US President Biden expected to call for the release of 1 million barrels per day over several months from the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserves currently holding roughly 568 million barrels of crude oil. U.S. road traffic volumes have recovered to pre-pandemic levels. US diesel stocks more than 20% below the pre-pandemic average. OPEC+ meeting today, expected to maintain existing output. Supply chain bottlenecks are putting a cap on US Shale short term output growth. Are global warming fanatics war on fossil fuels enflaming inflation?

South Europe fears livestock culls due to feed shortage as a result of decrease in Russia/Ukraine grain exports. Hungary, Serbia and Moldova are banning animal feed exports. U.S. division of the world’s biggest meat producer, JBS, says high prices for American beef would be continuing. Sri Lanka faces feed shortage resulting in 40% contraction in egg production. Northern Ireland dairy farmers struggling to cover expenses due to rising production costs, putting milk supply at serious risk. Animal feed in the Caribbean increases 12%. China’s pig farmers, suffering record losses due to surging feed costs. Update: Large fire ongoing at animal feed factory in Staffordshire, England, UK.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree today, demanding ruble gas payments for buyers from so-called "unfriendly" countries. Putin explained that Russia "supplied gas" to Western states which "paid us in euros, which they themselves froze.” In the past few days the ruble has almost returned to it's original rates prior to the sanctions. Putin has ordered for special accounts for gas payments to be opened at Gazprombank which will sell gas FX on a Moscow exchange.

EU- The ECON and LIBE committees voted to approve a proposal that would require cryptocurrency service providers, such as exchanges, to collect personally identifiable information from individuals who transact more than 1,000 euros using so-called un-hosted cryptocurrency wallets. India- Finance Bill approved on tax rules to impose a 30% crypto tax on digital asset holdings and transfers. Apart from that, traders cannot offset their losses against profits, and each trading pair will be considered independently for tax deductions. Update- The Bank of Japan has warned G7 nations that a common regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies needs to be introduced quickly.

French march inflation up to 5.1% y-o-y, the highest record since EU-harmonised data stared in 1997. German march inflation up to 7.6% y-o-y and similar high rate was last recorded in autumn 1981, when mineral oil prices had jumped as a consequence of the first Gulf war. Italian march mark inflation up to 7.0% y-o-y, highest level since early 1990s. Spanish march inflation up to 7.9% y-o-y, consumer prices were up 9.8%, the fastest pace since May 1985.

Neon, a critical gas in semiconductor manufacturing, fall to worryingly low levels in the midst of an ongoing chip shortage. Neon is required for the lasers that are used in a chip production process known as lithography, where machines carve patterns onto tiny pieces of silicon. Electric vehicles use double the chips of gas cars. More than half of the world’s neon (250 tons) is purified by a handful of Ukrainian companies. Neon is a by-product of large-scale Russian steel manufacturing which is then transported to Ukraine to be purified.

UN warns Middle East is at "breaking point" as food prices hit alarming highs. The UK Farmers' Union warns that the country is sleepwalking into a food security crisis due to soaring energy and fertilizer costs. Afghanistan is facing a devastating economic collapse and widespread food shortages under the Taliban government. Concerns are rising over the ability of Southeast Asia maintain rice exports to the world as countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines struggle to even produce enough for their own needs. “Sunflower oil prices have gone up 1,000%, but it is less about the price as the oils are often only a small constituent part of the products,”

Sri Lanka- Economic crises leads to mass anti-government protests against worsening shortages of fuel, food and medicines. 36-hour nationwide curfew declared by president. Authorities have imposed a broad import ban in an attempt to save foreign currency. 13 hour power-cuts have been ongoing for for some time in the country. Indian loading 40,000 tonnes of rice for shipment to Sri Lanka in the first major food aid. Social media ban implemented to quell protests, bypassed with VPN.

US farmers will be planting more soybeans instead of corn as they grapple with the rising cost of fertilizer. Canadian farmers see costly planting season with increase in fertilizer, diesel and labour costs. Farmers in India, Brazil and South Africa share concerns of future high food prices due to farming operational costs. A UK firm that bottles cooking oil says it has only a few weeks of sunflower oil supply left.

Germany- Minister of Agriculture says if possible people should ride a bike or take a bus/train instead of using cars to save energy. Supermarkets have even started limiting the purchase of cooking oils and flour. BMW has halted production at two German factories. Mercedes is slowing work at its assembly plants. Volkswagen, warning of production stoppages. German confectionery industry faces worse crisis in 70 years due to supply chain issues, rising raw material costs and fears that gov't will put further gas sanctions on Russia. Concerns grow over possible labour shortage due to uncertainty about the availability of harvest workers from Eastern Europe this summer.

The German government is in talks with private buyers interested in Gazprom Germania GmbH or some of its units. Germany hasn’t ruled out nationalizing parts of Gazprom Germania as a last resort. Russia's Gazprom said on Friday it no longer owned its German subsidiary. Germany would also consider nationalizing Russia's Rosneft’s business in the country. Berlin is also considering expropriating Gazprom assets by forcing the giant to sell its gas-storage facilities across Germany. Gazprom Germania and Rosneft Deutschland together account for one-quarter of Germany’s refinery business but their nationalization would see German authorities take control of them.

22 million chickens and turkeys have been culled in the U.S. since February due to an outbreak of avian influenza. Iowa state most affected. The cost of eggs has increased 52 percent since first bird flu cases. 35 million of Britain’s hens have spent the last four months cooped up to prevent spread. Quebec, Canada wildlife authorities say the first three cases of bird flu in the province have been identified among wild birds. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is looking into vaccines as an option to protect poultry against avian influenza.

The report by PwC shows that 80% of central banks are considering or have already launched a CBDC. Retail CBDCs have reached a greater level of maturity in comparison to their wholesale counterparts. Privacy appears to be dropping down on the priority list of those designing a new digital euro, and experts are warning that the design choices being made could make privacy harder to achieve. UK- A report into the potential effects of implementing a ‘cashless society’ has found that millions of people would be left struggling. Video- UK Maajid Nawaz warns of gov't control through CBDC's.

Kazakhstan is considering the introduction of temporary restrictions on the export of grain and flour to protect its domestic food market. The cost of delivering Ukrainian grain to the Romanian port of Constanta was 120-150 euros ($133-$166) per tonne. Before the war, traders paid around $40 to transport grain to Ukraine's Black Sea ports. Ukrainian Railways had opened 12 terminals for traders, but wagons were backing up and the railways would need two or three weeks to process them and send to consumers. US- Farmers in big wheat-growing states like Kansas are facing severe drought. record-high fertilizer prices that could lead some growers to skip applying the chemicals, potentially hurting grain quality.