The World Food Program says that Ukraine’s food supply chain is collapsing, infrastructure is destroyed, and many grocery stores and warehouses are empty.
It comes as Ukraine’s Deputy Ag Minister announced the 2022 spring planting season has started in some areas. It is not mass planting yet, and planted acreage could fall by more than a third this year.
The Deputy Minister says that it is impossible to forecast how much will be planted.
A Ukrainian ag consultancy says that farmers harvested a record crop of grain last year, but this year is anyone’s guess.
The war is already starting to impact food security in other parts of the world. The United Nations says that food prices are rising, and there is a shortage of staple crops in central Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa.
In rural areas, prices have spiked because of curtailed shipments. The UN says that wheat prices are near the levels of the food crisis in 2007, which sparked the Arab Spring Uprisings.
Russia and Ukraine account for a quarter of world wheat exports.
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