Extreme weather and market forces have affected the price of everything from Israel’s tomatoes to South Korean cabbage.

    Cabbage in South Korea

    TO outsiders it is just another vegetable. To South Koreans, the long-leafed cabbage is part of the national identity as the most common staple ingredient of kimchi, the spicy pickled vegetable dish that accompanies every meal.

    But a frosty spring and hot summer followed by autumn floods ruined this year’s crop and caused prices to rise between three and fivefold — although some whisper darkly that hoarders have contributed to the problem.

    Media reported that heads of cabbage were selling at a record high of 13,800 won (US$12.20) in Seoul last month. Radishes, also used in kimchi, are two to three times more expensive than last year. Some restaurants had even started charging for kimchi — a development akin to McDonald’s asking people to pay for ketchup.

    Garlic in China

    Garlic was last year’s best-performing commodity in China, Morgan Stanley says, and it has continued to appreciate. Until last spring, it cost as little as 0.40 yuan (US$0.06) a kilogram, prompting many farmers to turn to other crops. But by April last year, demand was far outstripping supply and the price began to rocket. A bad harvest this year sent it up again and caused speculators to pile in. This July, the price hit a high of 13 yuan a kilogram — where it remains.

    Tomatoes in Israel

    They are as much a part of the Middle Eastern diet as hummus and olive oil, but the rocketing price of tomatoes has led many families to treat them as an expensive delicacy.

    The cost of a kilogram of the usually ubiquitous red fruit has risen seven or eightfold in Israel and Palestine in the past month as a result of the scorching summer, with some retailers charging up to 14 or 15 shekels (US$0.27). The crisis is easing as a new crop of tomatoes, grown after the intense heat of the summer, are coming on to the market.

    Corn in the United States

    Corn prices in the United States have soared this month amid fears of shortages, a rise that could lead to higher food costs. The market has been volatile, with prices surging after a federal government report of reduced crops because of weather extremes in the corn belt, fluctuating between too much rain and too much heat.

    Bread in Russia

    The price of bread has risen dramatically in Russia following the heatwave in August, which wiped out more than a fifth of the country’s grain crop and caused devastating wildfires in the European part of the country.

    Prices have risen by at least 20 percent over the past two months, with further rises likely. Before August’s drought, a loaf of white bread cost around 16 roubles (US$0.52). It is now 20 roubles.

    Agricultural producers have also warned of sharp hikes next year on meat and milk products, following a doubling from 2009 of the price of animal feed.

    Sugar in Pakistan

    Wheat may be Pakistan’s staple food, but milky chai (tea) is the national drink. And, as most Pakistanis will testify, tea without a mound of sugar is barely worthy of the name. One recent survey found that Pakistanis considered a cup of sweet tea to be their second most important food source after bread; annual consumption of sugar is around 4 million tons. It is also the country’s second largest cash crop, after cotton. Consequently, the price of sugar is of great importance — and in recent years the news has been unremittingly bad.

    (SD-Agencies)