Mustard – a favorite condiment of the French people is becoming scarce due to climate change affecting the supply chain and many other reasons.
There is a short story to clarify this state of France’s “Mustard Crisis”.
The situation is so dire that many grocery stores limit the purchase of one jar of mustard per customer. In a certain town there was a resident, after buying 1 jar of mustard according to the regulations and leaving the store, he sneaked into the store from another entrance, bought another jar of mustard and paid at the counter. bank is different from the beginning.
It sounds thrilling, but actually, this man worked so hard just to: buy 2 jars of mustard.
That is exactly what France is going through, the shortage of mustard in the meals of many French families has lasted for weeks. The cause was initially attributed to climate change affecting the domestic supply of mustard. In addition, the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic disrupted imports and disrupted supply chains, leaving France stuck in the middle.
Mustard sold out everywhere
The reporter visited several grocery stores and small supermarkets in western Paris over the past week. Most were in a state of no mustard for sale, even 2 popular mustard brands, Maille and Amora, were also sold out.
“I haven’t been able to import any jars of mustard for three months now, everyone asks for them, but I’m sorry to have to say no.” Hassan Talbi, owner of a small shop in Rue de Courcelles, said.
According to Talbi’s memory, the last time he saw mustard was about 2 months ago, which was probably the last bucket of mustard the distributor sent him.
Mustard is an indispensable ingredient in the meals of most families in France. It is served with potatoes and bread, and as a condiment for many other dishes, such as the iconic specialty steak tartare.
Mustard is also a specialty and pride of France since ancient times. Since the Middle Ages, France has been world-famous for its delicious mustards, most notably Dijon mustard from Burgundy (France).
“We made the best spice in the world,” says Dinhut.
Despite being the world’s largest consumer of mustard, France currently has only about 4,500 hectares planted with this crop.
Last year’s drought and heatwaves in Canada severely disrupted global supply, slashing French foreign supplies by 80%.
In the country, experts said high fuel prices make it difficult to transport goods. Farmers also report that insects are causing more damage to crops due to warmer weather.
The call to “revive” the mustard industry.
Paul-Olivier Claudepierre, co-owner of Martin-Pouret, a French agribusiness, told Le Monde newspaper he hoped this was a warning to those in power, hoping they would revive the industry. mustard production in this country.
Upon hearing of the mustard crisis, many residents began hoarding in large quantities. This made the situation worse and was strongly condemned by many.
However, on social media, there are many conspiracy theories that this crisis is simply a trick of the ruling class to push up the price of mustard. The hidden videos of warehouses full of mustard in supermarkets make such conspiracy theories appear more and more.
Carrefour, a retailer and victim of the videos above, explains:
“We’ve found a new supply, it’s not a lot, but we’re going to get the mustard back on the shelves as quickly as possible.”
Hubert Guillaume and Naël Bernard, warehouse workers at a Monoprix supermarket chain in Paris, couldn’t help but rejoice when they saw the first batches of mustard after a long time of being sold out.
“In the past, people even went down to the warehouse to search, now they can buy it right on the shelf.” Bernard said some people still come every day, just to ask if the mustard has been delivered to the store, and the answer is always no.
It all started in Canada, the main source of mustard. The weather started to become unusually dry and hot in parts of Alberta and Saskatchewan last year, causing crop yields to drop. According to market survey, France is the second largest importer and Canada is the largest producer of mustard in the world.
Paul Delacour, a farmer northwest of Paris, said crops are being severely damaged by insects. Europe’s strict regulations on pesticides and pesticides make it difficult for them to eradicate harmful insects.
“In 2016 we produced 12,000 tons of mustard, that number drops to more than 4,000 in 2021, all because we have no control over the crop anymore,” said Fabrice Genin, President of the Producers Association. Burgundy’s mustard seeds said. He also emphasized that this is the harmful effect of climate change.
Besides the reduced supply, domestic inflation caused the price of mustard to skyrocket.
Marc Désarménien, general manager of Edmond Fallot, a Burgundy-based mustard producer, said that his company’s mustard price had to increase by 9% compared to before to compensate for inflation, and most likely Repentance still has to increase.
“This situation is expected to continue until 2024,” said Luc Vandermaesen, chairman of the Mustard of Burgundy group.
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