Famines around the world due to the Ukraine war?

Zelenskyj's adviser warns: "We have a week"

Created: 03/11/2022 13:56

A woman cries during the evacuation of the Ukrainian suburb of Irpin.

© Aris Messinis/AFP

Experts warn that the Ukraine-Russia war is threatening global famine.

The agriculture ministers of the G7 countries are struggling to find solutions.

Berlin/Kyiv - The escalated Ukraine conflict* not only brings suffering, destruction and bloodshed, it could also have dramatic consequences for nutrition in parts of the world.

Oleg Ustenko, the economic advisor to the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj*, warned on Friday of a famine if the war in Ukraine continues.

“We have a maximum of one week for sowing.

If the war doesn't end by then, the world will have a food problem," Ustenko told

.

Like Russia, Ukraine is one of the largest wheat exporters in the world.

It is estimated that because of the aftermath of the war, three million tons less wheat will be exported from Russia and four million tons less wheat from Ukraine.

There are already significant price jumps.

"If we cannot deliver, then the price on the international markets will rise," said Ustenko.

"The world must decide how to feed people, especially in African countries."

Ukraine War: Is Wheat Running Short?

Zelenskyjs adviser calls for further sanctions for Russia

The economic adviser called for an immediate embargo on Russian oil and gas to deprive Russian President Vladimir Putin of funds for his invasion of Ukraine.

Germany and other EU countries have so far rejected this.*

The agriculture ministers of the seven major industrial nations (G7) will discuss the effects of the Ukraine war on global food security on Friday.

According to experts, the effects can be far-reaching.

An overview:

Famine caused by Ukraine war?

These foods could become scarce

The organization Germanwatch warns of

.

Ukraine is considered a “breadbasket of Europe”.

In the EU, individual countries such as France or Germany are also major players on the international grain market, but the quantities harvested in and exports from Ukraine can influence prices worldwide.

Other important agricultural exports from Ukraine are corn, rapeseed and sunflowers.

Famine caused by Ukraine war?

These regions are most at risk

The war in Ukraine is likely to have noticeable effects, especially in the Arab world and in some countries in Asia and Africa.

and the Ukraine.

Germanwatch therefore warns that there could be famine and social upheaval in poorer countries.

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, which are already plagued by crises and hunger ,

will now deteriorate significantly.

They are also urgently dependent on wheat imports from Ukraine and Russia.

Welthungerhilfe expects the number of starving people to increase.

Indonesia's President Joko Widodo warned, among other things, of food shortages due to the war.

However:

," said agricultural expert Verena Laquai from the state-owned Thünen Institute.

Famine caused by Ukraine war?

Prices could rise in Germany

Food Minister Cem Özdemir (Greens) has already made it clear that the food supply in Germany and the EU is safe.

However, prices in supermarkets could continue to rise.

The raw material costs for bread and rolls, for example, make up a small part of the price, while rising energy prices are much more relevant for other products.

Arable farmers can currently get more for their grain with high world market prices -

.

Many farms are also worried about drastic price increases for nitrogen fertilizers.

Hugersnot due to Ukraine war?

That might help

In the short term, possible supply gaps could be covered by large exporters, said expert Laquai.

In the longer term, this will result from increased production in all parts of the world.

There are estimates that because of the aftermath of the war, three million tons less wheat is being exported from Russia and four million tons less wheat from Ukraine.

"

and can therefore export more," says the expert.

could also export more thanks to good harvests.

Environmental organizations and politicians also criticize the fact that large quantities of grain end up in feeding troughs.

The

, has so far exported less than one percent of the harvest, according to government figures.

Reason: The Indian government sets a minimum price for wheat, which was long above the international wheat price.

However, this is now different in view of the price increases due to the Ukraine crisis, said the head of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority, Tarun Bajaj, of the dpa.

Famine caused by Ukraine war?

Peace threatened elsewhere too

Food insecurity is often followed by political instability.

Rising food prices are also considered one of the triggers of the so-called Arab Spring.

In Iraq and Turkey, many people have been protesting against food price increases in recent weeks.

Experts also believe that new refugee movements are possible as a result of increasing hunger.

Famine caused by Ukraine war?

Germany may have to change agricultural policy

The war has reignited

the dispute over an

The opposition Union in the Bundestag demanded that security of supply have a higher priority - and that includes intensifying the limited agricultural land in Europe.

SPD expert Susanne Mittag warned, for example, with regard to fertilizer requirements: "The war in Ukraine must not be misused as an opportunity to play a backward role in agricultural policy." EU Commissioner Frans Timmermans sees things similarly.

Agricultural policy in the EU is also largely shaped in Brussels.

Famine caused by Ukraine war?

This is what the G7 agriculture ministers are talking about

Özdemir wants to discuss the far-reaching effects as part of Germany's G7 presidency.

Specifically, it is about global food security and the question of how the markets can be kept open and stabilized.

The Ukrainian department head Roman Leschenko and international organizations are also to take part in the video conference.

Farmers' President Joachim Rukwied appealed to the G7 that food security in the affected countries must be guaranteed.