The world has only about 10 weeks of wheat supplies left in storage amid the conflict in Ukraine and India has moved to bar exports of wheat in recent weeks, a food insecurity expert revealed.
India announced last week it would ban exports of wheat due to heatwave and supply concerns.
Sara Menker, CEO of Gro Intelligence, a global company that uses artificial intelligence and public and private data to predict food supply trends said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “did not start a food security crisis,” but it did add “fuel to a fire that was long burning.”
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The ongoing war among the TOP wheat exporters in the world, put out food supply at greater risk. Russia is the world’s largest wheat exporter while Ukraine is the sixth-largest exporter.
More details of this report from The Insider:
The world has about 10 weeks of wheat supplies stored as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine enters its fourth month, a food insecurity expert told the UN.
Sara Menker, the CEO of agriculture analytics firm Gro Intelligence, told the UN Security Council that the Russia-Ukraine war was not the cause of a food security crisis but “simply added fuel to a fire that was long burning.”
Ukraine is considered the world’s “breadbasket” and Russia and Ukraine combined account for almost a third of the world’s wheat exports.
This comes as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Russia of using food as a weapon. Blinken, also addressing the UN Security Council, said that Russia was holding food “hostage” not just for Ukrainians but for millions across the world.
“The Russian government seems to think that using food as a weapon will help accomplish what its invasion has not – to break the spirit of the Ukrainian people,” Blinken said.
Menker said droughts across the world are contributing to declining wheat resources. Menker said global food supplies are also being impacted by climate change and fertilizer shortages.
David Beasley, executive director of the World Food Program, said the world is now facing “an unprecedented crisis,” noting that 49 million people in 43 nations are “knocking on famine’s door.” With famine comes political destabilization, he noted.
Beasley said in a statement:
“We are already seeing riots and protesting taking place as we speak—Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Pakistan, Peru. We’ve seen destabilizing dynamics already in the Sahel from Burkina Faso, Mali, Chad. These are only signs of things to come.”
Sources: Thegatewaypundit, The Insider