Looking at the price of gasoline over the last 20 years, you can see that the global average has doubled, from $0.60 a litre in 2001 to $1.20 a litre today. This year, in particular, the increase in demand as economies open back up following over a year of restrictions, added to a supply shortage across much of the world, means prices are nearing an all-time-high.

And it seems that the trend is not over yet, with experts suggesting that motorists across Europe and Asia can expect high petrol and diesel costs well into the winter months as the Brent benchmark stays around $85 a barrel; demand for fuel increases; and taxes on motor fuel in countries such as India, France and the U.K. continue to stay at around 60 percent of the retail price of petrol and diesel.

But what does this trend mean for other industries? As well as rising fuel prices, we are seeing the cost of food and drink increase, with average food prices hitting a decade high and costing around one-third more this September than last. Fuel costs cannot be blamed as the sole catalyst in rising food prices, as harvests hit by hot weather and Covid restrictions, an increase in global demand – with a dramatically cold 2020 winter and hot 2021 summer, and disruptions in the supply chain, are also to blame. But if transport and farming costs continue to rise, our food bill is likely to keep climbing.