# How war, weather, and Covid-19 are rekindling the food vs. fuel debate | The Counter

> Cooking oil prices have nearly tripled since 2020, with wholesale food costs up 15.1 percent year over year. The article links the surge to war, weather and Covid-19 disruptions, and to competing demand for soy and corn in fuel use.

- Date: 2022-03-31 · published 2022-03-31T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: geopolitics · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/15413-how-war-weather-and-covid-19-are-rekindling-the-food-vs-fuel-debate-the-counter
- Commodities: [Soybean Oil](https://feedsoft.ai/c/SBO.md), [Corn](https://feedsoft.ai/c/CORN.md)

## Why it matters

Tight vegetable oil and grain supplies from geopolitical and weather shocks, plus biofuel competition, keep soybean oil and corn prices at high levels for feed and food buyers.

## Read by commodity

- SBO: bullish ▲
- CORN: bullish ▲

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SBO | 2022-04-21 | [Biofuels industry tackles COVID-19, war challenges \| World Grain](https://feedsoft.ai/events/15406-biofuels-industry-tackles-covid-19-war-challenges-world-grain.md) | +2.2% | -3.6% |
| SBO | 2026-03-04 | [US diesel hits $4 per gallon as fuel costs rise amid escalating Middle East conflict \| Reuters](https://feedsoft.ai/events/5530-us-diesel-hits-4-per-gallon-as-fuel-costs-rise-amid-escalating-middle-east.md) | +0.6% | -0.6% |
| SBO | 2022-04-06 | [The Ukraine Conflict and Other Factors Contributing to High Commodity Prices and Food Insecurity \| USDA Foreign Agricultural Service](https://feedsoft.ai/events/4033-the-ukraine-conflict-and-other-factors-contributing-to-high-commodity-prices.md) | -1.6% | +1.6% |
| SBO | 2025-12-03 | [Vegetable oil prices rose slightly after falling in the previous week](https://feedsoft.ai/events/11261-vegetable-oil-prices-rose-slightly-after-falling-in-the-previous-week.md) | -2.7% | -6.6% |
| SBO | 2022-06-09 | [The Black Sea blockade: mapping the impact of war in Ukraine on the world’s food supply – interactive \| Global development \| The Guardian](https://feedsoft.ai/events/14480-the-black-sea-blockade-mapping-the-impact-of-war-in-ukraine-on-the-world-s-food.md) | -6.6% | -24.6% |
| CORN | 2026-03-05 | [How the Iran war could create a ‘fertiliser shock’ – an often ignored global risk to food prices and farming](https://feedsoft.ai/events/6255-how-the-iran-war-could-create-a-fertiliser-shock-an-often-ignored-global-risk.md) | +2.4% | +4.6% |
| CORN | 2023-07-24 | [The War Is Impacting The Corn Market More Than Weather Right Now - AgWeb](https://feedsoft.ai/events/35073-the-war-is-impacting-the-corn-market-more-than-weather-right-now-agweb.md) | +9.3% | -4.1% |
| CORN | 2026-07-14 | [Wheat surges as war weather and short covering collide \| Saxo](https://feedsoft.ai/events/7272-wheat-surges-as-war-weather-and-short-covering-collide-saxo.md) | +2.0% | -0.6% |

## Sources

- thecounter.org: https://thecounter.org/ukraine-biden-oil-us-reserves-biofuel-rfs-ethanol-soybean/

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.