After flour and pasta: Other groceries in the supermarket are becoming scarce

Created: 03/23/2022, 16:20

German consumers are also feeling the effects of the Ukraine war.

Many supermarket shelves remain empty.

Berlin – After sunflower oil*, flour and pasta, another food could become scarce in Germany from autumn – namely mustard.

Almost 80 percent of the mustard seeds imported in Germany come from Russia and the Ukraine.

A shortage of raw materials can already be observed, said the general manager of the food association Kulinaria, Markus Weck, of the newspaper Welt on Monday (March 21, 2022).

The association represents around 130 companies that produce mustard, among other things, and expect an intensified shortage in the coming weeks and months.

Because it's getting tight for production.

Stefan Durach, President of Kulinaria Germany, expects raw material shortages and delivery failures.

However, these could not “easily be absorbed,” warns Durach.

In many supermarkets in Germany, shelves are currently empty.

Now another food could become scarce.

© Friso Gentsch/dpa

Germans feel the Ukraine war: mustard will soon be scarce everywhere

Depending on the company, the inventories in the silos of the manufacturers were sufficient for a few weeks or months.

But it will then be difficult in the second half of 2022 and in the first half of 2023. "The sowing must take place in the next two weeks," said association head Markus Wecke of the newspaper.

It is true that mustard seeds are also grown regionally in Germany.

However, the volume is manageable, said Weck.

Franz Wunderlich, owner of the Regensburg mustard manufacturer Händlmaier, confirmed to the newspaper Welt that he also works with German farmers, "but the quantities are far from sufficient for our mustard production".

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The next largest provider behind Russia and Ukraine is Canada.

Händlmaier said: "We received Canadian mustard seeds at short notice by air freight, but at the highest prices we have ever paid for raw materials." Meanwhile, that no longer works either.

"Currently there are no more mustard seeds to buy on the world market," said Händlmaier with a view to the Ukraine conflict *.

He is therefore turning off the first machines: "We are reducing our mustard production and can therefore probably continue to deliver until August."

According to Kulinaria, a total of 38,320 tons of mustard seeds were imported into Germany in 2020, of which 51.9 percent came from Russia, 27.6 percent from Ukraine and 10.2 percent from Canada.

Four percent of the mustard seeds came from Estonia and 6.4 percent from other countries.

Almost 81,000 tons of mustard worth around 167 million euros were produced in Germany;

the per capita consumption was 805 grams.

The precarious situation on the mustard market is further exacerbated by hamster buyers.

That is why the Federal Association of the German Food Trade (BVLH) has already called on all customers not to make hamster purchases.

These are not necessary, there is no reason.

Food that is not directly needed and purchases in large quantities would ultimately only artificially cause the shortage of certain foods.

(AFP/red)