This is war, that's what hunger is.

The price for wheat daily is marking record figures. On the Chicago derivative stock exchange, the most important scholarship for agricultural products, this price is now 50% higher than before the Russian attack on Ukraine. The reason for the price now in the wheat stratosphere relates to the fact that both countries in war, Ukraine and Russia are among the world's top wheat exporters.

Most of the world's grain harvest is consumed where it is planted. The rest are traded on international markets. “In these markets Ukraine and Russia have almost a third of”, says agriculture economist Matin Qaim, director of the Centre for Development Studies, (ZEF) in Bonn for DW.

Russia is the world's leading wheat producer. Ukraine takes fifth place. Among them are the United States, Canada and France. According to Qaim, most cereals from Russia and Ukraine are exported in summer and autumn. So the biggest problems are ahead.” War does not only challenge the export of existing reserves, but if it lasts long, production is not sown in Ukraine and harvested in the right amount.

Developing Countries Depending

Such a situation increases the price of grain. For purchasing countries, an extraordinary problem is that among them are developing countries, which are dependent on imports of food ice. “countries like Lebanon and Egypt import most of the basic food items, often to 70-90%”, says Qaim. Kenya is highly dependent on the importation of wheat, as is Turkey.

Hunger to Increase

It is not just wheat, where Russia and Ukraine have a large market share on world markets. At corn and barley they also have an important share, 20% of the world market, in sunflower oil, even 80%. We see price hikes not only in wheat but also in other food articles”, says economist Mattin Qaim. For the poorest in developing countries, that means more hunger. “They can't do anything but feed less.” True, there are several countries, among them China and India, that have huge reserves “Of course, they can reduce reserves and increase the grain bid”, says Qaim, but this is not enough to compensate for the losses.

Sanctions and Food Articles

More cereals and other products are being planted in Russia, but the “the research available is whether to enable the export of food ice to prevent a humanitarian disaster, collateral damage to war in other parts of the world”, says centre director Z. EF, Mattin Qaim. Sanctions against Russia not only make exports difficult, but also payments, because some Russian banks are excluded from the international payment system. “Other developments depend on fighting. There is a real danger that even in Ukraine we have a hunger crisis, in a country that because of such productive land was also called the <x4ndembard of Europe”.