Lengthy war impacting global food crisis

During the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank over the last week, one of the top items on the agenda was the rise in food prices, which has been aggravated by Russia's war on Ukraine. The world's financial leaders who met in Washington realise that what is now also emerging is a global food emergency that could affect millions of people around the world and trigger a host of other problems including a refugee crisis, social and political unrest and even famine. Food prices were already elevated before the war started because of pandemic-induced lockdowns, supply chain disruptions, high transport costs and adverse weather events. The war has made matters much worse.

Between them, Russia and Ukraine account for 30 per cent of global exports of wheat and 20 per cent of corn - which are staple foods in many countries as well as key ingredients for other foods. They are also big producers of oats, barley, fertilisers and sunflower oil - the supplies of which have dropped dramatically in the face of production and transport disruptions caused by the war. The prices of all of these items have soared, and some, such as wheat, are at all-time highs. The potential impact is devastating.