Sanctions Add Pressure to Already High Food Prices, Threatening Food Security for Millions
The potential pain from a loss of agricultural exports due to sanctions is likely to be felt disproportionately world-wide.
Countries in the Middle East and North Africa rely on the nearby Black Sea as a trading route and source of imports from Russia and Ukraine.
The sanctions have hamstrung shipping there, stranding ships and sailors across the globe and putting countries such as Egypt, the world’s largest importer of wheat, at risk of losing a critical food source. Egypt gets about 70% of its total wheat imports from Russia and Ukraine.
Historical ties and geographic proximity mean that former Soviet Union countries, such as Armenia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, tend to import a lot of their wheat products from the region.
Trade data compiled and analyzed by the Harvard Growth lab, which is based on countries’ reporting to the United Nations and represents the latest complete trade data available, covers an estimated 95% of global goods trade.
Country-specific dynamics will affect how they are able to handle the loss of a critical source of wheat imports, according to David Laborde, a senior research fellow with the International Food Policy Research Institute.
Surging fuel prices can also give oil-exporting countries such as Iraq more flexibility to pay for wheat—even at higher costs.
Global food prices were rising before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The conflict sent shock waves through a system already challenged by disruptions in production and supply chains.
Even before the invasion, farmers were struggling to handle higher fertilizer costs. Russia, a major supplier of fertilizer to the world, recently cut exports.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/russia-ukraine-war-adds-pressure-to-already-high-food-prices-threatening-food-security-for-millions-11647691202
