Real Assets
3 Reasons for the Fertilizer and Food Shortage
3 Reasons for the Fertilizer and Food Shortage
Bad weather, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and a shortage of fertilizer have led to fears of a global food crisis.
This infographic will help you understand the problem by highlighting three key factors behind the mounting food crisis.
#1: The Fertilizer Shortage
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the war has disrupted shipments of fertilizer, an essential source of nutrients for crops.
Russia is the world’s top exporter of nitrogen fertilizer and ranks second in phosphorus and potassium fertilizer exports. Belarus, a Russian ally also contending with Western sanctions, is another major fertilizer producer. In addition, both countries collectively account for over 40% of global exports of the crop nutrient potash.
Here are the top 20 fertilizer exporters globally:
| Rank | Country | Exports Value (Billions in USD) |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | 🇷🇺 Russia | $12.5 |
| #2 | 🇨🇳 China | $10.9 |
| #3 | 🇨🇦 Canada | $6.6 |
| #4 | 🇲🇦 Morocco | $5.7 |
| #5 | 🇺🇸 United States | $4.1 |
| #6 | 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | $3.6 |
| #7 | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | $2.9 |
| #8 | 🇧🇪 Belgium | $2.6 |
| #9 | 🇴🇲 Oman | $2.6 |
| #10 | 🇶🇦 Qatar | $2.2 |
| #11 | 🇩🇪 Germany | $1.5 |
| #12 | 🇮🇱I srael | $1.5 |
| #13 | 🇪🇬 Egypt | $1.5 |
| #14 | 🇱🇹 Lithuania | $1.4 |
| #15 | 🇩🇿 Algeria | $1.4 |
| #16 | 🇪🇸 Spain | $1.3 |
| #17 | 🇯🇴 Jordan | $1.3 |
| #18 | 🇵🇱 Poland | $1.2 |
| #19 | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | $1.0 |
| #20 | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | $1.0 |
The main destination of fertilizer exports from Russia are large economies like India, Brazil, China, and the United States.
However, many developing countries—including Mongolia, Honduras, Cameroon, Ghana, Senegal, and Guatemala—rely on Russia for at least one-fifth of their fertilizer imports.
Furthermore, the war intensified trends that were already disrupting supply, such as increased hoarding by major producing nations like China and sharp jumps in the price of natural gas, a key feedstock for fertilizer production.
#2: Global Grain Exports
The blockade of Ukrainian ports by Russia’s Black Sea fleet, along with Western sanctions against Russia, has worsened global supply chain bottlenecks, causing inflation in food and energy prices around the world.
This is largely because Russia and Ukraine together account for nearly one-third of the global wheat supply. Wheat is one of the most-used crops in the world annually, used to make a variety of food products like bread and pasta. Additionally, Ukraine is also a major exporter of corn, barley, sunflower oil, and rapeseed oil.
| Producer | Grain Exports in Million Tons (MT) |
|---|---|
| 🇺🇸 United States | 93MT |
| 🇷🇺 Russia & 🇺🇦 Ukraine | 87MT |
| 🇦🇷 Argentina | 56MT |
| 🇪🇺 EU | 50MT |
| 🇧🇷 Brazil | 44MT |
| Other | 87MT |
As a result of the blockade, Ukraine’s exports of cereals and oilseed dropped from six million tonnes to two million tonnes per month. After two months of negotiations, the two countries signed a deal to reopen Ukrainian Black Sea ports for grain exports, raising hopes that the international food crisis can be eased.
#3: Recent Food Shortages
Besides the war in Ukraine, factors including the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change resulted in nearly one billion people going hungry last year, according to United Nations.
France’s wine industry saw its smallest harvest since 1957 in 2021, with an estimated loss of $2 billion in sales due to increasingly higher temperatures and extreme weather conditions.
Heat, drought, and floods also decimated crops in Latin America, North America, and India in recent months. Between April 2020 and December 2021, coffee prices increased 70% after droughts and frost destroyed crops in Brazil.
In the face of multiple crises, the World Bank recently announced financial support of up to $30 billion to existing and new projects in areas such as agriculture, nutrition, social protection, water, and irrigation.
Real Assets
Visualizing the Gold-to-Oil Ratio (1946-2024)
This graphic shows the gold-to-oil ratio since 1946, charting the significant shifts between the world’s two biggest commodities.
Visualizing the Gold-to-Oil Ratio (1946-2024)
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
Gold and oil—two of the most influential commodities on the planet—have a fascinating relationship that has evolved over decades, captured in the gold-to-oil ratio.
The gold-to-oil ratio represents the number of barrels of crude oil equivalent to the price of one troy ounce of gold.
It is viewed as an indicator of the health of the global economy, indicating when gold or oil prices are significantly out of balance with each other.
This graphic shows the gold-to-oil ratio since 1946, using data compiled by Macrotrends.
What is the Gold-to-Oil Ratio?
The gold-to-oil ratio expresses the price relationship between gold and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil. WTI is a grade of crude oil and one of the three primary benchmarks for oil pricing, along with Brent and Dubai Crude.
A high ratio indicates that gold is relatively expensive compared to WTI crude oil, and vice versa. This can indicate periods of outsized demand for energy in the form of crude oil, or periods of monetary uncertainty when there is higher demand for gold.
Below is the gold-to-oil ratio every decade between 1946 and 2024.
| Date | Gold to Oil Ratio |
|---|---|
| 1946-01-01 | 29.91 |
| 1950-01-01 | 13.62 |
| 1960-01-01 | 11.89 |
| 1970-01-01 | 10.91 |
| 1980-01-01 | 20.86 |
| 1990-01-01 | 18.10 |
| 2000-01-01 | 10.29 |
| 2010-01-01 | 14.80 |
| 2020-01-01 | 30.66 |
| 2024-01-01 | 26.88 |
| 2024-11-01 | 39.06 |
During the 1950s and 1960s, fixed gold prices and stable oil prices kept the ratio between 11 and 13 for 20 years.
Since the 1980s, the ratio has typically traded within the range of 6 to 40 with a notable exception: in 2020 when the ratio reached a high of 91.1. The peak in 2020 was driven by COVID-19, which boosted gold prices as a safe haven while oil demand and prices plummeted due to global lockdowns.
In contrast, between 2000 and 2008, oil prices were relatively high compared to gold. During this period, the ratio dropped to nearly 6 but never rose above 16.
When comparing the two commodities, it’s worth remembering that the crude oil market is around 10 times larger than that of gold, making it the largest commodity market in the world.
Learn More on the Voronoi App 
If you enjoyed this graphic, make sure to check out this graphic that shows the top countries by natural resource value.
Real Assets
Visualizing the Gold-to-Silver Ratio Since 1869
The gold-to-silver ratio shows how many ounces of silver equal one ounce of gold.
Visualizing the Gold-to-Silver Ratio Since 1869
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
The gold-to-silver ratio shows how many ounces of silver equal one ounce of gold. It is the oldest continuously tracked exchange rate, dating back to 3200 BCE. Historically, the ratio played an important role in ensuring coins had their appropriate value, and it remains an important technical metric for metals investors today.
This graphic shows the gold-to-silver ratio since 1869. Data was compiled by Longtermtrends.
The History of the Gold-to-Silver Ratio
The earliest recorded instance of the gold-to-silver ratio dates back to 3200 BCE, when Menes, the first king of Ancient Egypt, set a ratio of 2.5:1. Since then, the ratio has generally seen gold’s value rise as empires and governments became more familiar with the scarcity and difficulty of production for both metals.
Ancient Rome was one of the earliest civilizations to set a gold-to-silver ratio, starting as low as 8:1 in 210 BCE. Over the years, varying gold and silver inflows from Rome’s conquests caused the ratio to fluctuate between 8 and 12 ounces of silver for every ounce of gold.
By 46 BCE, Julius Caesar had established a standard gold-to-silver ratio of 11.5:1, shortly before it was bumped to 11.75:1 under Emperor Augustus.
In more modern times, the ratio peaked in 1939 at 98:1 after U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt changed the statutory price of gold from $20.67 per troy ounce to $35.
In 2020, the ratio reached an all-time high of 125.1 during the COVID-19 pandemic, as investors sought gold as a safe haven.
| Year | Ratio |
|---|---|
| 1968-01-01 | 16.2 |
| 1968-05-01 | 17.1 |
| 1969-01-01 | 21.3 |
| 1969-05-01 | 24.5 |
| 1969-09-01 | 24.2 |
| 1970-01-01 | 19.5 |
| 1970-09-01 | 19.6 |
| 1971-09-01 | 27.7 |
| 1972-05-01 | 31.9 |
| 1973-01-01 | 31.9 |
| 1973-05-01 | 42.7 |
| 1974-01-01 | 35 |
| 1974-05-01 | 31.4 |
| 1974-09-01 | 37.4 |
| 1975-01-01 | 41.7 |
| 1975-05-01 | 37.9 |
| 1975-09-01 | 34.8 |
| 1976-01-01 | 33.7 |
| 1976-09-01 | 25 |
| 1977-05-01 | 30.9 |
| 1977-09-01 | 32.7 |
| 1978-05-01 | 34 |
| 1979-01-01 | 37.3 |
| 1979-05-01 | 31.3 |
| 1980-01-01 | 14 |
| 1980-05-01 | 38.9 |
| 1980-09-01 | 39.1 |
| 1981-09-01 | 45.9 |
| 1982-09-01 | 52.7 |
| 1983-09-01 | 34.3 |
| 1984-05-01 | 42.1 |
| 1985-01-01 | 49 |
| 1985-05-01 | 51.1 |
| 1985-09-01 | 53.9 |
| 1986-01-01 | 56.3 |
| 1986-05-01 | 66.7 |
| 1986-09-01 | 76 |
| 1987-01-01 | 75 |
| 1987-09-01 | 60.1 |
| 1988-09-01 | 65.3 |
| 1989-05-01 | 66.7 |
| 1990-01-01 | 77.1 |
| 1990-05-01 | 74.2 |
| 1991-01-01 | 94.3 |
| 1991-05-01 | 90.3 |
| 1991-09-01 | 90.7 |
| 1992-01-01 | 90.8 |
| 1992-09-01 | 91.5 |
| 1993-09-01 | 78.2 |
| 1994-09-01 | 71.2 |
| 1995-05-01 | 66.2 |
| 1996-01-01 | 74.9 |
| 1996-05-01 | 72.9 |
| 1996-09-01 | 74.7 |
| 1997-01-01 | 77.1 |
| 1997-05-01 | 71.8 |
| 1997-09-01 | 69 |
| 1998-01-01 | 48.4 |
| 1998-09-01 | 57.8 |
| 1999-09-01 | 49.4 |
| 2000-05-01 | 54.9 |
| 2001-01-01 | 59.4 |
| 2001-05-01 | 60.4 |
| 2002-01-01 | 60.6 |
| 2002-05-01 | 68.2 |
| 2002-09-01 | 69.9 |
| 2003-01-01 | 72.2 |
| 2003-05-01 | 71.8 |
| 2003-09-01 | 73.5 |
| 2004-01-01 | 69.4 |
| 2004-09-01 | 60.3 |
| 2005-09-01 | 63.6 |
| 2006-05-01 | 47.3 |
| 2007-01-01 | 49.3 |
| 2007-05-01 | 51.1 |
| 2008-01-01 | 56.3 |
| 2008-05-01 | 52.8 |
| 2008-09-01 | 60.9 |
| 2009-01-01 | 78.5 |
| 2009-09-01 | 64.1 |
| 2010-09-01 | 64.2 |
| 2011-09-01 | 43.6 |
| 2012-05-01 | 54.1 |
| 2013-01-01 | 54.5 |
| 2013-05-01 | 61.5 |
| 2013-09-01 | 58 |
| 2014-01-01 | 61.2 |
| 2014-05-01 | 67 |
| 2014-09-01 | 66.5 |
| 2015-01-01 | 75.4 |
| 2015-09-01 | 78.3 |
| 2016-09-01 | 69.9 |
| 2017-05-01 | 74.8 |
| 2017-09-01 | 74.8 |
| 2018-01-01 | 76.7 |
| 2018-05-01 | 80 |
| 2018-09-01 | 84 |
| 2019-01-01 | 82.4 |
| 2019-05-01 | 87.3 |
| 2019-09-01 | 81.6 |
| 2020-01-01 | 84.9 |
| 2020-05-01 | 114.6 |
| 2020-09-01 | 71 |
| 2021-01-01 | 71.6 |
| 2021-05-01 | 67.1 |
| 2021-09-01 | 75.8 |
| 2022-01-01 | 78.7 |
| 2022-05-01 | 82.6 |
| 2022-09-01 | 96.2 |
| 2023-01-01 | 76.4 |
| 2023-05-01 | 79.3 |
| 2023-09-01 | 80.5 |
| 2024-01-01 | 87 |
| 2024-05-01 | 86.5 |
| 2024-09-01 | 88.5 |
Learn More on the Voronoi App
If you enjoyed this graphic, make sure to check out this graphic that shows the top countries by natural resource value.
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