The US President recently said the conflict between Russia and Ukraine had driven up the prices of all the world's major food staples, including wheat, corn, barley, oilseeds and edible oils, and that Russia and Ukraine together supplied more than 25% of the world's wheat exports and about 20% of its barley exports. 

To address the food shortage, the Biden administration says it plans to increase the number of counties eligible for insurance for double cropping. Double cropping is when farmers grow two different crops a year on the same field. 

Under Biden's plan, the number of counties eligible for two-season crop insurance would increase by 681, for a total of 1,935. 

The UN has warned that up to 1.7bn people are "highly exposed" to the domino effect of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine on the global food, energy, and financial systems.  The agency says conflict could increase hunger in countries where people are already suffering from malnutrition.

Even countries where food is less scarce are being hit by rising prices. U.S. grocery prices rose 1% in April, compared with a 10.8% increase over the past 12 months, the Labor Department said recently.

According to the White House, global food prices have risen nearly 13 percent since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. 

Besides, affected by the ever-changing international situation, the supply and prices of international bulk fumed silica are still very uncertain.

Fumed silica is a nanometer white powder produced by the hydrolysis of silicon halide at high temperature in an oxyhydrogen flame. It is a kind of amorphous silicon dioxide product, the primary particle size is between 7~40nm, the aggregate particle size is about 200-500 nm, the specific surface area is 100~400m2/g, high purity, and SiO2 content is not less than 99.8%. The vapor phase silica aggregates with untreated surfaces contain a variety of silica hydroxyl groups. 
One is an isolated, undisturbed free hydroxyl group; The other is bonded silyl groups that are linked and form hydrogen bonds to each other. The vapor phase silica aggregates with the untreated surface are aggregates containing multiple -Oh compounds, which can easily form a uniform three-dimensional network structure (hydrogen bond) in the liquid system.  This three-dimensional network structure (hydrogen bond) with external force (shear force, electric force, etc.) will be destroyed, the medium becomes thin, the viscosity drops, and once the external force disappears, the three-dimensional structure (hydrogen bond) will restore itself, the viscosity rises, that is, this thixotropy is reversible.


 
Fumed silica is one of the most important new inorganic materials. It has a small particle size, large specific surface area, strong surface adsorption, large surface energy, high chemical purity, good dispersion performance, thermal resistance, resistance, and other aspects of specific performance. In addition, its high stability, its reinforcing effect, thickening, and thixotropy, in many fields of unique characteristics make it irreplaceable.
It is widely used in various industries as additives, catalyst carriers, petrochemical, decolorizing agent, matting agent, rubber reinforcing agent, plastic filling agents, ink thickening agents, metal soft polishing agents, insulation and adiabatic filler, advanced daily cosmetic filler, and spraying materials, medicine, environmental protection, and other fields.
 
Fumed silica mainly has two "sex”: hydrophilic and hydrophobic. People can use physical, chemical, and mechanical methods to deal with the fumed silica surface or interface, in order to change its chemical and physical properties of the fumed silica surface, such as surface energy, surface wettability, electrical, adsorption, and reaction characteristics, surface structure and functional groups, etc. Therefore, it can meet the modern new material, new technology, and the needs of the development of new technology. 



Hydrophobic fumed silica applications
Thickening of polar liquids, such as epoxy resins; Silicone elastomer reinforcement; High addition, as in molded products; Good hydrophobicity, improving anticorrosion; Improved dielectric properties, as in cable composites; Powder flow AIDS, such as powder coatings and fire extinguishing agents; Improve scratch resistance in coatings and plastics. 
 
Luoyang Tongrun Nano Technology Co. Ltd. (TRUNNANO) is a trusted global chemical material supplier & manufacturer with over 12-year-experience in providing super high-quality chemicals and Nanomaterials, including silicon powder, nitride powder, graphite powder, zinc sulfide, calcium nitride, 3D printing powder, etc.
If you are looking for high-quality fumed silica at a very good price, please feel free to contact us and send an inquiry. ([email protected])
 

Recently, the first press conference of the Boao Forum For Asia Annual Conference 2022 was held. Two flagship reports were released at the conference: "Asia's Economic Prospects and Integration Process 2022" and "Sustainable Asia and the World 2022-Green Transformation in Action in Asia".

The flagship report points out that the global economy will recover in 2021, and the pace of economic integration in the Asia-Pacific has not stopped even in the face of the impact of COVID-19. The Asia-Pacific region has provided new impetus for the world's economic recovery and institutional building.  

The report gives an outlook on the Asian economy, noting that a number of factors will affect Asian economic growth. For example, mutated strains such as Delta and Omicron have become more transmissible, and many economies are experiencing epidemic peaks again. The Ukraine crisis has triggered geopolitical changes in Asia and Europe, leading to higher commodity prices, which may affect the global energy supply and energy transformation.

The report pointed out that the Asian economy will still be in the process of recovery in 2022, but the growth rate may moderate. According to the report, Asia's economic growth in 2022 is likely to be lower than the current IMF forecast, which is projected at 4.8%.

Affected by several factors, the supply of the fumed silica is erratic and thus its prices are expected to go higher in the future.

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