1703 Potato Scare
The 1703 Potato Scare, or just potato scare was a panic among traders and producers in the food industry in Sankt Ludwigshafen. The scare was a response to the Barikalus sanctions. Following its ascension into the Xäiville Convention, Sankt Ludwigshafen had begun exporting shepherd's pies to Xäiville Convention nations, especially Hurmu. These pies proved to be so popular, that potato prices began to rise in the republic, and that the food industry had to import potatoes from other nations, among them Arbor.
In 1703, the Emir and Emira of Arbor were murdered as part of the Arboric Civil War. The event did not receive a great deal of attention in Sankt Ludwigshafen, though some preachers in the Ludwiggian Reformed Church expressed their opinion that given that the wage of sin is death, it was no wonder that this pagan prince was assassinated. Things began to change when the Sultanate of Kurum Ash-Sharqia's Grandvizier Faisal Van Looveren called for Micras-wide sanctions against the Arboric Republic of Barikalus. While Kurum Ash-Sharqia was not a significant trade partner to Sankt Ludwigshafen, similar sanctions were adopted by Hurmu and Hurmese importers started asking questions about the origin of ingredients in the republic's famous shepherd's pies. Not having kept records of the origin of the imported potatoes, traders were uncertain whether they could still sell the production of XIII.1703 and prices plummeted.
The crisis was averted a week later when the Stadtparlement resolved to buy any excess production of the XIIIth month for average export prices, and introduced a certificate of origin system for agricultural imports. Shepherd's pies bought up by the government, were distributed by the Ludwiggian Reformed Church to poor families. From XIV.1703 onwards, the Ludwiggian Chamber of Commerce offered certificates of origin (Ursprungszeugnisse) to exporters able to provide documentation of the origin of the ingredients and the production process of the product they offered for sale abroad. This certificate was not immediately made mandatory, but the Stadtparlement is considering regulation to make the documentation of the origin of ingredients and production processes mandatory by 1710.
With the Xäiville Convention excempting foods from its free trade, Hurmu authorities responded to the "potato scare" in Sankt Ludwigshafen by finding that Sankt Ludwigshafen food products had been illegally imported to Hurmu, and mandated all food sellers to recall any food products with origin in Sankt Ludwigshafen. Hurmu only allows importation of certain foods with certain production taxes from certain countries. It was unknown what effect that clamp-down had on the local economy in Sankt Ludwigshafen.
