Ukraine War and Food Prices

Russia and Ukraine collectively account for round one quarter of worldwide wheat manufacturing, so it comes as no shock that the struggle they’re presently combating is upending world provide.

The dynamic is easy sufficient on the Ukrainian finish: with massive swathes of the jap a part of the nation occupied by Russian forces and a extreme scarcity of in a position fingers as Ukrainians head to the entrance, some 20-30% of Ukrainian agricultural land will stay both unplanted or unharvested this 12 months, as per FAO estimates. For instance, it’s believed that some 50% of the land that the conventional winter wheat crop is planted on is now occupied by Russia, together with some 40% of rye crop land.

The fallout isn’t simply restricted to wheat exports. Ukraine is a significant producer of sunflower oil as properly, accounting for roughly 50% of the worldwide market, with Russia additionally a major participant with a 25% market share. Sunflower oil represents round 13% of the worldwide vegetable oil market, and sure African states are extremely depending on imported oils, specifically Namibia (100% of provide imported), Botswana (100%), Madagascar (90.9%), Gabon (88.6%), Algeria (84.7%), and Ethiopia (81.7%).