France is running out of butter at grocery stores and some people are panicking
- The price of butter has faced a significant increase this year.
- Most countries have responded by raising prices, but French supermarkets have been unable to do so. As a result, there's a butter shortage in France.
- Worried consumers have stockpiled butter during the last few weeks making the shortage worse.
French supermarkets are running out of butter. Or, rather, they can't pay for it. This is a problem for a country with the world's highest rate of per-capita butter consumption.
A combination of bad weather in France, which has lowered the supply of cow feed; decreased exports from leading butter producer New Zealand; and increased global demand has increased the price of butter, according to the BBC. The price of 100 kgs of butter (which is a little over 220 lbs) has increased from about $527 to just over $791 since January.
According to Bloomberg, the current shortage in France has been amplified by anxious consumers frantically stocking up on butter during the last few weeks.
Supermarkets in most countries have responded by simply raising the price of butter, but French supermarkets have been unable to do so since butter prices are set once each year following negotiations with producers. The next round of talks is set for February.
Here's how people reacted to the news on Twitter.
