A Reasonable Answer to OPEC’s Oil Hijacking

Last year, Syria imported 890,000 metric tons (mt) of corn/maize, 147,000 mt of wheat and 483,000 mt of soybeans. Iran imported 1.8 million mt of soybeans, 1.8 million mt of corn/maize and 231,000 mt wheat. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, Nigeria and Russia import enormous quantities of grains from the U.S. to feed their people.

The U.S. is the world’s largest producer of corn/maize and soybeans, and only China and India grow more wheat than we do, but they consume almost every grain they produce. The U.S. is the world’s largest exporter of these farm products, as well as cereal brans, sorghum, millet and other farm products.

Perhaps it is time to consider returning to the old-fashioned barter system that served so well before the adoption of universal coinage. We should tell our good Saudi “brothers” and other OPEC “friends” that from this day forward we will no longer pay for your oil with cash or gold. However, we will trade one bushel of our wheat, or a bushel of our corn/maize or a bushel of our soy beans for one barrel of oil—and you pay the shipping costs from our port to yours.

Of course, the prices of these products wouldn’t change a bit for U.S. consumption. And it would not be surprising if the other large grain exporters—Australia, Canada, France, Argentina, Germany and the United Kingdom—would agree to join us in bartering grain for oil in an OGEC [Organization of Grain Exporting Countries]. Even radio commentator Paul Harvey likes the idea.

The United Nations General Assembly of tin-pot dictators would throw a serious “spit fit”, but there will be a couple billion people in North and South America, Europe, Asia and the Pacific Rim who would applaud the results of this “barter”.

The only “problem” with the plan is our weak-kneed “leaders” in Congress and the State Department would probably not have the necessary backbone to us allow us to be that ruthless with the oil pirates of the world. They need our grain to feed their people as much as we need their oil.

WHY NOT TRADE??!!