Link To Article: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australia-abandons-efforts-eradicate-deadly-honey-bee-parasite-2023-09-20/
Mites in Australia are causing prices of common crops such as apples, almonds, avocados to increase. The Varroa mite, a parasite that is killing honey bees, is having a major negative impact on the pollination of crops. These mites are infecting thousands of bees forcing the Australian government to take action. The Australian government recently just ended an eradication plan that costed $132 million which has destroyed more than 14,000 hives since the mite was discovered in June, 2022. They have stopped trying to eradicate the mites and instead manage the spread by moving hives. The major problem with this is illegal movement of hives which makes it nearly impossible to contain the mites. It was said that a widespread mite infestation could cause losses of up to over $70 million a year.
This is an interesting situation because there is a chance that the costs of these basic foods go up significantly in price. Simple everyday snacks like apples and almonds might reach a point where it is not even worth buying for a majority or minority of people. A loss of healthier foods like these could have an effect on people’s diets even if it is a subtle change. I think this is a somewhat similar circumstance to the increase of gas prices in the way that it affects people spending more and more in our everyday lives. The question I am wondering is how will this affect other countries? Will this make a big difference to trading and inflation?
Based on what we have learned in class, we can relate this situation to the help of NGO’s. NGO’s are non-governmental organizations that help with any problems around the world with no influence from one certain government. There might be an operative NGO that works with nature and the environment who can help the mite infestation in Australia.