Inflation has been a popular news topic in 2022, with reports that inflation has reached its highest rates in 30–40 years in some countries (Davies, 2022). Aquaculture farmers in countries with rapidly increasing rates of inflation are rightly concerned about the effects of increasing costs. Yet the effects of inflation on aquaculture farm businesses can extend well beyond those of increased production costs alone.
What is important to understand is that the farm-level effects of inflation are closely intertwined with those of various government policies that include both fiscal (i.e., spending, taxation) and monetary (interest rates established by central banks that affect the money supply in the economy) policies. Economic conditions and government policies change over time, sometimes quickly, making it difficult to unravel what the ensuing effects may be on business conditions. This editorial will first provide some brief overall context for discussions of inflation rates, including the underlying causes, and will then examine potential implications for global aquaculture…