UN warns of food catastrophe

The United Nations is warning of the potentially devastating impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on global access to food.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said on Wednesday during remarks in New York that “for people around the world, the war, together with the other crises, is threatening to unleash an unprecedented wave of hunger and destitution.”

“Food prices are at near-record highs. Fertilizer prices have more than doubled, sounding an alarm everywhere,” Guterres continued. 

“Without fertilizers, shortages will spread from corn and wheat to all staple crops, including rice, with a devastating impact on billions of people in Asia and South America, too. This year’s food crisis is about lack of access.  Next year’s could be about lack of food,” he added.

Guterres also noted that the World Food Program estimated that the ripple effect of the war could contribute to 47 million people facing food insecurity this year.

“Ukraine’s food production, and the food and fertilizer produced by the Russian Federation, must be brought back into world markets — despite the war,” the secretary-general said.

During the invasion, Russia has blockaded the Black Sea, inhibiting Ukrainian exports. Now, Ukraine has been forced to use trains or smaller river ports to ship out goods including grain, Reuters noted. Those exports are particularly important, as Ukraine is one of the world’s largest exporters of wheat, corn and sunflower oil.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky echoed concerns about the limited exports having an impact on global hunger. 

“We cannot export our wheat, corn, vegetable oil and other products that have played a stabilizing role in the global market,” Zelensky said in an address released Thursday. 

“This means that, unfortunately, dozens of countries may face a physical shortage of food. Millions of people may starve if Russia’s blockade of the Black Sea continues,” he added.