Russia-Ukraine War Drives Wheat Prices to Three-Year High
Wheat futures have reached their highest level in over three years, hitting $7.40 per bushel in late August. The escalation of the Russia-Ukraine war has fueled concerns about disruptions to global supplies from one of the world's key grain-producing regions.
Russia and Ukraine account for more than a quarter of global wheat exports, raising fears of renewed food-price pressures amid elevated energy and transport costs stemming from the Middle East conflict.
Ukraine's agricultural exports are expected to fall by over 50% this season from previous estimates, while Russian wheat exports are projected to drop by over 50% in August from a year ago. US wheat export inspections also fell to 425,668 metric tons in the week ended August 20, down from 514,363 tons a week earlier and significantly below the 1.05 million tons recorded a year ago.