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Worldwide food prices hit a record high in March as exports from Russia and Ukraine — the world’s largest grain producers — are largely stuck in those countries.
The United Nations said Friday that its food price index jumped nearly 13% from February to March, with wheat, barley, corn, oats and sunflower oil in short supply because of the six-week-old war in Ukraine.
Russia and Ukraine account for 30% and 20% of global wheat and corn supplies, respectively.
The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization said feed prices could rise as much as 20%, which in turn could cause malnutrition in countries across the Middle East, Africa, Asia and elsewhere.
In parts of Central and West Africa, the war has already exacerbated a fragile food ecosystem.
“There is a sharp deterioration of the food and nutrition security in the region,” said Sib Ollo, senior researcher for the West and Central African regions of the WFO, adding that 6 million children are malnourished and nearly 16 million people in urban areas are at risk of food insecurity.
The agency’s cereal price index rose by a record 17% in March while its vegetable oil index rocketed by a record 23%.
The FAO also cut its projection of world wheat production this year to 784 million tons from 790 million in March because it believes that 20% of Ukraine’s winter crop might not be harvested this year.
Other large grain-producing countries, including the United States, Canada, France, Australia and Argentina, are trying to ramp up production to fill in the gaps in the supply chain.
But Russia is a big maker of fertilizer, which is produced in the Black Sea region, and those supplies are also not available to farmers.
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