The HARDminute # 18
A Series of “Top Tens”
That Took Forever to Compile
But Requires Only Sixty Seconds
for You to Read.
Top Ten
Wheat Producing Countries
Thankfully, wheat, rice, corn, cotton and lumber are renewable resources. We can re-grow them. Unlike coal, natural gas and oil, these basic commodities, needed for food, clothing and shelter, are resources we continue to produce year after year. Water, and hydro-generated electricity, are also assets that are not necessarily gone once they are used.
In North America, we can take comfort from this!
Below are production figures as of 2006.
They are shown in metric tones PRODUCED. In brackets are the amounts consumed domestically for the same period. In some cases, countries will maintain small stores of wheat, but typically, excess capacity is exported. Wheat producers know they can grow more next year and it is not necessary to store all excess production. Look at all the excess production available just from USA, Canada and Australia! Now imagine if wheat were traded like oil is!
Food could be a trading weapon just as oil is.
China 96.2 (101.5)
India 72 (70)
USA 57.1 (31.3)
Russia 45.5 (38.4)
France 36.9 (22)
Canada 25.5 (8.2)
Australia 24.1 (5.6)
Germany 23.6 (19.7)
Pakistan 21.6 (20.9)
Turkey 21 (16.1)
A Series of “Top Tens”
That Took Forever to Compile
But Requires Only Sixty Seconds
for You to Read.
Top Ten
Wheat Producing Countries
Thankfully, wheat, rice, corn, cotton and lumber are renewable resources. We can re-grow them. Unlike coal, natural gas and oil, these basic commodities, needed for food, clothing and shelter, are resources we continue to produce year after year. Water, and hydro-generated electricity, are also assets that are not necessarily gone once they are used.
In North America, we can take comfort from this!
Below are production figures as of 2006.
They are shown in metric tones PRODUCED. In brackets are the amounts consumed domestically for the same period. In some cases, countries will maintain small stores of wheat, but typically, excess capacity is exported. Wheat producers know they can grow more next year and it is not necessary to store all excess production. Look at all the excess production available just from USA, Canada and Australia! Now imagine if wheat were traded like oil is!
Food could be a trading weapon just as oil is.
China 96.2 (101.5)
India 72 (70)
USA 57.1 (31.3)
Russia 45.5 (38.4)
France 36.9 (22)
Canada 25.5 (8.2)
Australia 24.1 (5.6)
Germany 23.6 (19.7)
Pakistan 21.6 (20.9)
Turkey 21 (16.1)
