Ukraine , Ukrainegate , 20, March , 2022 – The war between Russia and Ukraine has led to an unprecedented increase in prices and an imbalance in the global food trade, as the United Nations somewhat fears famine and political unrest in poor countries.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine also had an immediate impact on grain prices, and the price quoted on the Paris futures exchange rose to 420 euros per ton compared to 280 euros before the war, surpassing the figures recorded for the 2007-2008 “Arab Spring” and food riots.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres raised the alarm that the war in Ukraine could cause political unrest in many countries and a “hurricane of hunger and collapse of the global food system”.
The AFO’s global food price index is at an all-time high, and the world’s 45 African and least-developed countries import at least a third of their wheat production from Ukraine or Russia – and 18 of those countries import at least 50% of their wheat. These include Burkina Faso, Egypt, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
Black Sea wheat accounts for nearly a third of world trade.
Since the vast majority of transport takes place through the Black Sea, the blockade of Ukrainian ports will affect where supplies are received, and of course, it provides longer delivery times for buyers such as Egypt for example.
This also applies to other grains, not just wheat. Over the past two years, Ukrainian exports of maize have grown significantly; As Ukraine is the fourth largest exporter and responsible for 16% of global corn trade, it is also the largest exporter of oil in the world.
The war is undermining the sowing of sunflowers and corn, and if the battles continue, the summer wheat harvest may be affected. The Ukrainian government has already halted the export of rye and restricted the export of wheat, corn and sunflower oil.
Analyst Pierre Brodersen told DW that it was unclear who would harvest after the hostilities and in what state the infrastructure would be cut and repaired, transported and exported.
It is reported that one of the first moves of the Russian army during the attack on Ukraine was the capture of Snake Island near the Romanian border, all in order to control the routes to the Ukrainian Black Sea ports.
It became known that Putin was seizing grain in Ukraine, as it was being shipped by Russia from Berdyansk.
