President Joe Biden will travel to an Illinois farm Wednesday to explain how agricultural exports can ease inflationary pressures from the war in Ukraine.
The war has disrupted Ukrainian wheat supplies to world markets, as well as causing inflation in the prices of oil, natural gas and fertilizer.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations reported that its food price index for April jumped by almost 30% compared to a year earlier, although it declined slightly from month to month. In the United States, food prices have risen 8.8% compared to the same period a year ago, their highest peak since May 1981.
The trip to Illinois offers Biden a chance to address two challenges facing his presidency. First, his support in the polls has fallen due to the inflation problem and his visit will coincide with the release of the consumer price index that economists say will show a decline for the first time since August.
But from a broader point of view, it is an opportunity to demonstrate how the United States is meeting the challenges posed by the war in Ukraine. It’s a well-worn pattern: In recent days, Biden traveled to a weapons factory in Alabama to show off Javelin anti-tank missiles that the United States is sending to Ukraine.