Russia-Ukraine tension seriously disrupts food supply

The Middle East region hardly imports Russian crude oil, nor does it depend on gas pipelines leading through Ukraine, but for food, both countries are very strategic partners.

The disruption of food supplies from Russia and Ukraine is so severe that, according to Saudi News, the past two decades, the Middle East has witnessed a lot of chaos and difficulties, but every time they find a way. to ensure themselves a basic food supply, but this time I am afraid it will be different. Like Egypt, up to 80% of wheat is currently imported from Russia and Ukraine.

The situation is no easier with Turkey, Iran or Libya. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations warned that, if the current tension is not resolved soon, it will push the prices of many essential food items by 8 to 22% compared to today – already high because of the pandemic. and supply chain bottlenecks.

Both Russia and Ukraine are famous for their wheat and grain products. The main ingredient for bread production is threatened, which will inevitably create many concerns about social unrest.

Currently, the Tunisian government has had to direct the government to ban government officials from commenting on the status of wheat imports. Syria has established a wheat rations per capita. And Egypt is also urgently looking for alternative sources.

Even the wealthy Gulf countries are not immune. Food in this area is mainly imported. Not only the price of bread has increased, meat, fish, eggs and milk have also increased, due to the scarcity of cereals for animal feed.

Currently more than a quarter of the world’s wheat production comes from Russia and Ukraine. The two countries also account for 80% of the world’s sunflower oil production, more than 20% of the world’s corn production. But when it comes to the impact on the agricultural sector, the Russia-Ukraine tensions are threatening an equally important sector, which is the source of fertilizers. According to the United Arab Emirates-based newspaper Al Arabiya, this is because gas – one of the key ingredients in fertilizer production – has now stalled. The tension in gas supplies from Russia and Ukraine will certainly have significant consequences on the world fertilizer market.

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