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. 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.