Black Sea Blockade Sparks Global Food Security Crisis

The ongoing conflict in the Black Sea between Russia and Ukraine is having far-reaching consequences on global food security. The impasse has choked off supplies of wheat, sunflower oil, and corn from these two countries, which together make up a quarter of the global wheat trade.

Russia's war with Ukraine has disrupted the flow of grain exports through the Black Sea, where Russia and Ukraine are responsible for over 25% of global wheat shipments. The crisis has been exacerbated by the fact that Russian and Ukrainian governments are scrambling to secure exit routes for their crops, but capacity elsewhere is limited.

Caitlin Welsh, a food security expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, notes that 'the world is underestimating the impact of these attacks.' The disruption has driven up wheat prices to three-year highs, with some countries forced to seek alternative sources from as far away as Australia and Romania.