By: D. H. Williams @ 1:42 PM - EST
World wide credit crisis is beginning to have an effect at the grocery store. Bloomberg News reports that shoppers in Iceland are rushing to food stores to stock up before warehouses empty. The island of Iceland must import all foods except meat, fish and dairy products.
Iceland’s foreign currency market has seized up after three of it’s largest banks collapsed. These foreign currency transactions are essential to import food, drugs and energy.
Icelanders are facing a real food shortage as bank failures are cutting off supplies food to their island nation. Iceland’s number one food discounter Bonus only has enough groceries to cover normal demand for two more weeks.
“We have had crazy days for a week now,” said Johannes Smari Oluffsson, manager of the Bonus discount grocery store in Reykjavik’s main shopping center. “Sales have doubled.”
Even with food inflation were fruits and vegetables have gone up 50% in price shoppers are leaving grocery stores with full carts.
The distribution of Food and other essential supplies are being seriously disrupted by the dual problems of credit disruptions and rapid currency devaluation through out the world.
Of course the worlds private banking families who control have a solution. “The only way we can solve this problem is to get the IMF into the country.” said Andres Magnusson, chief executive officer of the Icelandic Federation of Trade and Services in Reykjavik.
Be prepared for global wide disruptions in food supplies and beat inflation now by putting up a store of food and other essential supplies.
Related Article(s): Associated Press, Cuba limiting purchases at food markets
Updated: @ 5:37 PM - EST
Surreal Reykjavik
From the blog of Icelandic marketing exec Hjortur Smarason:
It feels surreal to drive the streets of downtown Reykjavik. The banks are lid up and people are working there. The logo’s are still outside the houses. The ads are still running saying how wonderful and trustwurthy the banks are. Range Rovers and BMWs are still filling the streets and the parking lots. Bankers in their suit walk the streets with heavy eye brows. There’s a strange silence.
It’s like we know the system is broken, we know it’s gone, but we can’t see it. We can’t tell what’s real, what’s still there, and what are just the ghosts of yesterday, when Iceland was one of the richest countries in the world. A pale reflection of the golden age in Icelandic economy which is now going up in flames. Where’s the smoke?
The world is treating us like we’re dead. Bank accounts frozen. No buziness without cash payments in advance. No currency can be bought. The stock market is closed (not that I have anything left there). Imports have stopped because of closed currency markets and diapers, flour, sugar and other neccesities are selling out in the shops.
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2 comments ↓
E-foods looks to have a great supply. If we are still employed in November (LOL!, not really) I am going to add one of their 2 month supplies to my stock of cans and dried goods.
I am sorry that you fell for there PR-Stunt. This store used the situation to tell people that it thought there would be food shortage, to get people to buy more. They advertised this, and got people to run in to their store.
2 weeks later their store has all the goods and there is no shortage.
I doupt there will be shortage:
1. Icelanders can produce enough of food on their own, without any foreign help.
2. The foreign trade has been slowly recovering, as UK has lifted of the terror law put on ALL Icelandic company, even though the banks are the only ones that hit trouble.
Food price might raise on imported goods, but I doubt there will be shortage.
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