[Not again!] More Shortages in Store for 2023

Egg-pocalypse, pet food, and beer... [Shop Survival Frog]( Survival Food Flash Sale! Shortages and supply chain issues are unpredictable. Crises are unexpected. The only thing you’re in control of is whether or not you’re prepared. Every order of survival food comes with a side of peace of mind. Survival Frog’s most popular food and save 15% today.]( _______________________________________________________________________ It used to be a routine chore with few surprises…but with all the craziness of the last few years – grocery shopping got weird. Nowadays, prices are enough to make you do a double take, people stare you down as you reach for the same loaf of bread, and shoppers are prepared to find ransacked shelves and items out of stock. Food shortages have become the norm. The headliners in 2022 were infant formula and eggs. Egg farms are recovering, but in the meantime, it’s gotten so bad that border patrol agents are actually catching egg smugglers. While egg and poultry prices remain at unappetizing highs, there are some other shortages and price hikes you should prepare for. The following five items have the potential to be in short supply this year. 1. Beef Last week we did a deep dive on beef. The abridged version is this: drought led to a lack of grass for cows to eat, but alternative feeds cost too much. It was more economical for ranchers to slaughter cows than to feed them, so a lot of cows that would have been processed this year were culled early. Record numbers in fact – as many as 80,000 cows per week. So, while there was a brief beef boom, ranchers now need time to rebuild their herds. Shoppers can expect a nationwide beef shortage to last a few years. 2. Wheat Products 2023 could see dwindling supplies of bread, flour, and cereal. Basically, if it’s made of wheat, it could be in trouble. According to the Brookings Institution, close to 20% of the world’s supply of cereal grains, including wheat, comes from Russia and the Ukraine. As the war there drags on and approaches the one-year mark, it’s likely we’ll see continued disruption of grain exports. Strangely, in an abrupt turnaround, Russia resumed a deal giving Ukrainian grain exports safe passage back in November. That said, it’ll take time for the supply to return to normal – and farming becomes a very dangerous business in a war zone. It’s also not out of the question that unpredictable Putin will have another about face and cut Ukrainian agricultural exports off again. Then there’s Russia itself. Russia is the world’s single largest exporter of wheat. But in a chilling statement, former president and current Russian Security Council member Dmitry Medvedev, called food Russia’s “silent weapon.” 3. Vegetable oil and other seed oils Here’s another shortage that can be tied to the ongoing military conflict. Seed oils like sunflower seed oil and canola oil are predominantly produced in – you guessed it – Russia and Ukraine. In fact, in 2020, 52% of all sunflower oil in the world came from Ukraine. The truth is, these oils aren’t the best for your health – they’re high in inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids and also tend to oxidize (go rancid) quickly – so you may want to wean yourself off them anyway. But they’re the oil of choice for most restaurants and snack companies, so we may see some disruptions going forward. 4. Tomato Products Despite the deluge that recently hit California, it wasn’t enough to undo years of drought, and tomato farmers – the bulk of U.S. tomatoes are grown in the Golden state – are feeling the heat. Crops have gotten worse year over year since 2018, and many farmers are moving on to less labor-intensive crops that pay better. According to Mike Montna, president and CEO of the California Tomato Growers Association, 95% of the processed tomato products consumed in the U.S. come from California’s Central Valley. It may be wise to add extra ketchup, marinara sauce, BBQ sauce, and salsa to your pantry now instead of paying more later. Come springtime, consider growing your own garden tomatoes and save at the store. 5. Aluminum It wasn’t just toilet paper people hoarded when Covid hit – demand for canned goods spiked as well. Two of the products feeling the impact the most couldn’t be more different – beer and pet food. As bars closed their doors in 2022, people took to kicking back and relaxing with a beer at home. In a cute twist, they also started adopting pets in record numbers. The sudden (and continuing) demand for cans, coupled with China’s pollution crackdown that saw numerous aluminum plants shut down, has made aluminum in short supply and costs are still creeping up. Brews and Fancy Feast will be selling at a premium in 2023. And as you build up your emergency preparedness stockpile, remember your four-legged friends need survival rations too. Stock Up and Save While it’s always a good idea to buy items when you spot them on sale, you might want to keep an extra eye out for the items noted above – that way, you can steer clear of empty shelves and a higher price point in the future. Hopefully all the kinks are ironed out of the supply chain sooner than later and anticipated shortages can be avoided, but arm yourself with what you know and prepare the best you can. ~ Survival Frog ​Preparing Made Easy® _______________________________________________________________________ Voted #1 Best-Tasting Survival Food on Sale From the Great TP shortage of 2020 to the high-priced Egg-pocalypse we’re living now, you can never quite know what’s around the corner. The best you can do for your family is to be prepared. Food is the #1 item people hoard in a crisis. We are making it easier to stock up on survival food today by offering you 15% off our top-selling Survival food. [Shop Survival Frog’s best-tasting Survival Food and save 15% off here.]( [​]( Need help? Talk with a product expert, place orders, or get customer support, email support@survivalfrog.com Survival Frog, LLC, 621 Kalamath Street, Suite 75, Denver, CO 80204, USA Can't see this email? [Open in your browser](. Want to update your email preferences? [Click here]( [Unsubscribe](