Joseph Wilson, Samy Magdy, Aya Batrawy and Chinedu Asadu
The Christian Science Monitor, Mar. 7, 2022
“If the war is prolonged, countries that rely on affordable wheat exports from Ukraine could face shortages starting in July.”
The Russian tanks and missiles besieging Ukraine also are threatening the food supply and livelihoods of people in Europe, Africa and Asia who rely on the vast, fertile farmlands of the Black Sea region – known as the “breadbasket of the world.”
Ukrainian farmers have been forced to neglect their fields as millions flee, fight or try to stay alive. Ports are shut down that send wheat and other food Staples worldwide to be made into bread, noodles and animal feed. And there are worries Russia, another agricultural powerhouse, could have its grain exports upended by Western sanctions.
While there have not yet been global disruptions to wheat supplies, prices have surged 55% since a week before the invasion amid concerns about what could happen next. If the war is prolonged, countries that rely on affordable wheat exports from Ukraine could face shortages starting in July, International Grains Council director Arnaud Petit told The Associated Press.
Batrawy reported from Dubai, Magdy from Cairo and Asadu from Lagos, Nigeria. AP reporters Paul Wiseman in Washington; Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad; Cara Anna in Nairobi, Kenya; Niniek Karmini in Jakarta, Indonesia; and Roxana Hegeman in Belle Plaine, Kansas, contributed.
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