Oatmeal lovers are quakin’ in their boots.
With record-high temperatures and drought across the northern oat-growing states, there’s a small oat crop this year, which will affect oat products in the grocery store.
Are you cereal? ‘Fraid so. In fact, USDA says the 2021 crop is the smallest on record at 39.836M bushels—a 39% drop compared to 2020. In Canada—the biggest exporter of oats—oat harvest was cut by more than half.
Securing the goods: Swedish company Oatly searched all over the globe to secure reserves for its products, obtaining contracts in the Baltics and Canada. Cheerios maker General Mills, which is celebrating its 80th year by using its original name, CheeriOats-General Mills, also secured enough North American oats for production.They have not indicated whether they’ll increase the price of their popular cereal.
But while these larger companies have their share of oats, companies like SunOpta are struggling with supply.
But my oatmeal, though: Fewer bushels of oats means higher prices on your granola bars and other oat-based products. Combine fewer supplies of oats with higher inflation rates, and consumers’ pocketbooks will roll oat more cash.