Mustard seed shortage to rock US grocery markets

Hotdogs are a summer food staple, however the mustard sauce we add on top might not be as easy to add due to concerns over a mustard seed shortage caused by poor production this year.

As a result of droughts this season Canada, which is the second-largest producer of mustard seed globally, has seen a 28 per cent drop in yields.

Though it's not just a Canadian problem since across the pond in France, they too have had a 50 per cent decrease in 2021 due to the adverse climate, according to The Guardian.

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Meanwhile, this has had an impact on mustard prices for customers, with French shoppers seeing a 10% increase in the condiment, the BBC reported.

In Canada, it is also expected prices will rise to almost double that of 2020-2021, to "a record $1,700 (£1,297) per tonne" a Canadian agriculture ministry report revealed.

Some places are experiencing a mustard shortage due to climate conditionsiStockphoto by Getty Images

"We're in a crisis we haven't seen for 25 years," French mustard producer Reine de Dijon's French sales director Christophe Planes told France24. "The price of seeds has gone up three or four times, and maybe five times soon."

"And, on top of that, there is no supply," he added.

Another circumstance that also hasn't helped the low levels of the seed is the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia who are both big producers of mustard seeds but due to the conflict, this supply chain has been disrupted.

Though mustard isn't the only thing which is on the rise, as global food prices hit their high level in over a decade with more than a 30 per cent increase in the last year (2020-21), the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said back in November last year, Reutersreported at the time.

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