In addition to seed oil and sparkling water, another ingredient may start running out in the pantry. Let’s see what it is.
The much-loved ingredient is in danger of disappearing due to climate change.
Another ingredient will disappear
This time it is not about the war in Ukraine or the price increases, as it was for seed oil and sparkling water respectively. This time around, a much-loved ingredient could disappear due to climate change.
It is a very expensive ingredient, especially to the French. According to statistics, in fact, in a month each citizen would consume about a kilo. Prices, however, would have risen by 14% in a few months.
What is it about? Of the mustard which is starting to run out in supermarkets. So much so that some food store chains have decided to limit their purchase. However, it is feared that by 2024 this ingredient may disappear completely. This was also confirmed by Luc Vandermaesen, director of the Reine de Dijon and president of the Association Moutarde de Bourgogne. How can such a thing happen?
Because mustard is in danger of disappearing
The whole of Europe could be in trouble, in the coming months, to find even a single can of mustard. The first reason for its shortage is the fact that mustard seeds are in short supply. 80% of the 35,000 tons arriving in Europe come from Canada. This French-speaking country has experienced difficulties since 2021. The difficulties are related to the ferocious drought which caused the weakening of mustard seed crops.
For this reason, Canada has set aside the cultivation of this ingredient to switch to wheat which is more fruitful and better paid. As a result, mustard seed production dropped by 50%. The figures released by the Ministry of Agriculture say that production did not exceed 50,000 tons.
To aggravate things, it has also taken place the war in Ukraine and the blocking of imports of mustard seeds. Imports from Russia were also stopped.
To get around the obstacle, France should start by relaunching its supply chain which, however, has recently been held back by French legislation on insecticides. Developing seeds that withstand the climate and insects in the land of France could prove to be quite complex.
By contrast, the President of the Association of Burgundy Mustard Seed Producers is quite optimistic. In fact, in his idea there would be an ambitious project: that of tripling the surfaces dedicated to seeds of mustard in Burgundy. The goal would be to reach 10,000 hectares, equal to 1% of the arable land in that region.
For 2022, however, these crops will not be enough and the Anglo-English giant Unilever has expressed itself on the question. The first French mustard producer claimed that:
“The totality of the Burgundy seed harvests, alone, is not sufficient to cover the entire production of the Amora-Maille company”.
–
