On Friday, Qu Dongyu, the director of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), announced that the Russian military operation has affected Ukraine's huge grain exports, contributing to the exponential increase in food prices. in international markets.
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The FAO food price index stood at 159.3 points in March, 12.6 percent higher than in February, which represents "a giant leap" to a new maximum peak in the historical series of prices since 1990.
On March 11, the FAO issued a report forecasting "significant repercussions for global food security" from disruptions to the agricultural supply chain in Ukraine and Russia, two countries that are among the world's largest grain exporters.
Currently, Russia is the world's largest wheat exporter and Ukraine the fifth one. Russia and the Ukraine provide 19 percent of the barley, 14 percent of the wheat, and 4 percent of the maize available on the world market.
Russia and Ukraine also provide a third of world grain exports and sell 52 percent of sunflower oil. For this reason, the Ukrainian conflict has impacted the international prices of vegetable oils, meat, cereals, sugar, and dairy products.
In March, the cereal price index stood at an average of 170.1 points, 17.1 percent higher than in February. The probable loss of exports in the Black Sea region aggravated the "already low world availability of wheat", which is also affected by the "worrying" situation of U.S. crops.
The Ukrainian conflict has also affected the FAO meat price index, which increased by 4.8 percent in March. The value of pork rose due to the scarcity of slaughter in Western Europe and the increase in demand before the upcoming Easter holidays.