Black Sea Conflict Spikes Food Prices as Grain Exports Plummet
The Black Sea has become one of the most treacherous waterways in the world for commercial shipping, with a summer of hostilities between Russia and Ukraine resulting in deadly attacks on ships and port infrastructure.
In July, an estimated 23 people died as a result of attacks on 35 vessels in the Black Sea, according to the Turkish seafarers' union Türkiye Denizciler Sendikası. The number of fatalities was higher than in any single month since the conflict began.
Attacks have continued into August, with Ukraine's grain export hubs of Odesa and Chornomorsk being hit by Russian missiles. Ukraine has retaliated with drone attacks on Russian vessels, including tankers it claims are part of a shadow fleet used to evade sanctions on oil exports.
The escalating conflict is having a significant impact on grain exports from both Russia and Ukraine, which account for more than 70% of the world's seaborne grain exports. Global wheat prices have been rising in recent weeks, but remain below levels seen at the start of the Ukraine war in 2022.