Emerging Nations Can Help Avert Putin’s Grain Pain
Importing heavyweights can prevent Russia from worsening global food insecurity.
A Russian serviceman guards a grain elevator in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region.
Photographer: Olga Maltseva/AFP
Welcome to Elements, our daily energy and commodities newsletter. In today’s take, Clara Ferreira Marques argues that major importers of grain are in position to prevent Vladimir Putin from making global food insecurity worse after a Ukraine shipment deal expires. To get Elements sent directly to your inbox, click here.
Food prices may be cooling, but insecurity is rising fast thanks to a strong dollar and higher borrowing costs. The International Monetary Fund says the world is facing a crisis at least as severe as the food emergency in 2007-2008, which saw painful shortages and triggered social unrest. The World Food Program calculates an all-time high of 970,000 people are dealing with catastrophic levels of hunger and 345 million people face acute food insecurity, needs that could overwhelm its ability to respond.