War in Ukraine sparks concerns over worldwide food shortages

[chinasun]

War in Ukraine sparks concerns over worldwide food shortages​

Issued on: 17/03/2022 - 19:24

A combine harvesting picks up the wheat on a field near the Krasne village, in the Chernihiv area, 120 km north of Kyiv, in 2019. © Anatolii Stepanov, AFP (file photo)
Text by:Cyrielle CABOT
5 min
Three weeks after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, the war is starting to have devastating effects not only on the ground, but in many countries that rely on Ukraine’s important wheat production. The United Nations has warned of a “hunger hurricane”, which is already starting to be felt in Northern Africa. FRANCE 24 takes a closer look.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.fr...sparks-concerns-over-worldwide-food-shortages

War has brought the world to the brink of a food crisis​

London(CNN Business)Svein Tore Holsether says the world is careening toward a food crisis that could affect millions of people.

Record high natural gas prices have forced the company he runs, fertilizer producer Yara International, to curtail its production of ammonia and urea in Europe to 45% of capacity. With less of those two essential agricultural ingredients, he expects knock-on effects for global food supplies.

"It's not whether we are going to have a food crisis. It's how large that crisis will be," Holsether told CNN Business.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cn...usiness/food-crisis-ukraine-russia/index.html

The Russia-Ukraine War has Turned Egypt's Food Crisis into an Existential Threat to the Economy​

With the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war on Feb. 24, 2022, Egypt's food security crisis now poses an existential threat to its economy. The fragile state of Egypt's food security stems from the agricultural sector's inability to produce enough cereal grains, especially wheat, and oilseeds to meet even half of the country's domestic demand. Cairo relies on large volumes of heavily subsidized imports to ensure sufficient as well as affordable supplies of bread and vegetable oil for its 105 million citizens. Securing those supplies has led Egypt to become the world's largest importer of wheat and among the world's top 10 importers of sunflower oil. In 2021, Cairo was already facing down food inflation levels not seen since the Arab Spring civil unrest a decade earlier that toppled the government of former President Hosni Mubarak. After eight years of working assiduously to put Egypt's economic house back in order, the government of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi is now similarly vulnerable to skyrocketing food costs that are reaching budget-breaking levels.

The Russia-Ukraine war catapulted prices to unsustainable levels for Egypt, increasing the price of wheat by an additional 44% and that of sunflower oil by 32% virtually overnight. Even more troublesome, the war also threatens Egypt's physical supply itself since 85% of its wheat comes from Russia and Ukraine, as does 73% of its sunflower oil. With activity at Ukraine's ports at a complete standstill, Egypt already needs to find alternative suppliers. A further escalation that stops all Black Sea exports could also take Russian supplies off the market with catastrophic effect. With about four months of wheat reserves, Egypt can meet the challenge, but to do so, Cairo will need to take immediate and decisive action, which can be made even more effective with the timely support of its American and European partners.
https://www.mei.edu/publications/ru...egypts-food-crisis-existential-threat-economy