War in Ukraine exacerbates food crisis

Why war in Ukraine exacerbates food supply issues: The two countries provide around a third of the world’s wheat, almost 80% of sunflower oil production, and about a fifth of corn exports, not to mention key supplies of fertilizers for farmers elsewhere. 

Grain exports out of Ukraine have stopped almost entirely as Russia blockades the country’s sea ports. For the trade that is continuing (largely on the Russian side), increased risk means higher ins. and shipping costs, and a tighter market as some traders steer clear. 

That all leads to knock-on effects in global commodities markets. Looking ahead, one key question is how much damage Ukraine’s farms have sustained as large swathes of land become battlefields and how long it could take for Ukrainian farmers to get back on their feet.

Food inflation is nothing new. The pandemic, persistent supply-chain issues, and climate change have all been driving up prices and destabilizing global food flows for some time. Some say wealthy nations have failed to address a food crisis that has been coming up in their rear-view mirrors for years.

Who stands to be hit the hardest? Countries already facing major food security challenges will unsurprisingly bear the brunt of rising prices. A quarter of Africans are facing a food security crisis, the Wall Street Journal quotes Dominik Stillhart, the International Committee of the Red Cross’ global operations director as saying.

International nonprofits are raising the alarm over West Africa in particular, where another 11 mn people could be pushed into hunger by this summer, humanitarian organizations have said. They’re calling on wealthy nations to help plug the USD 4 bn aid financing gap in the region.

And developed nations aren’t safe either: Price hikes disproportionately hit people on lower incomes no matter where they live, because they spend a greater share of their earnings on essentials. 

Poorer families could end up sacrificing electricity, healthcare, and heating in order to buy food, be forced to skip meals, or opt for less expensive and less nutritious meals, according to a FAO.

Some defensive moves to mitigate the crisis aren’t helping: The war has pushed some countries to respond with export restrictions as they look to secure their domestic needs. 

The World Trade Organization is urging countries to drop these controls and offer their surplus stock of basic commodities such as vegetable oil and grains to the world market to ease supply shortages.

Hunger also has its own consequences, chief among them political instability, mass migration, and conflict, the World Food Programme notes.

Some Middle Eastern nations are “struggling to access enough food because of a toxic combination of conflict, climate change and the economic aftermath of Covid-19,” the United Nations World Food Programme’s MENA director Corinne Fleischer previously said. 

“People’s resilience is at a breaking point. This crisis is creating shock waves in the food markets that touch every home in this region.”