Irish Examiner View: Grain gang set on profiteering

According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation, food prices have surged 20% this year alone.

The cargo ship Polarnet, arrives to Derince port in the Gulf of Izmit, Turkey, on August 8; the first of the ships to leave Ukraine under a deal to unblock grain supplies. Picture: Khalil Hamra/AP

It seems nearly incredible that at a time of soaring global hunger, the companies at the centre of the world’s grain trade are making record profits.

Figures released this week illustrate the world’s top four grain traders are seeing record, or near-record, profits and sales. Worryingly, these companies are forecasting demand will outstrip supply until at least 2024.