An UNCTAD rapid assessment of the war in Ukraine’s impact on trade and development confirms a rapidly worsening outlook for the world economy, underpinned by rising food, fuel and fertilizer prices. The report also shows heightened financial volatility, sustainable development divestment, complex global supply chain reconfigurations and mounting trade costs. Read More Here
Today Russia and Ukraine, respectively the largest and fifth-largest wheat exporters, together account for 29% of international annual sales. Uncertainties around the sowing season in the two countries coupled with low global stocks will further increase already-high prices. Read More Here
Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged local governments to optimize their land resources to achieve food self-sufficiency and reduce reliance on grain imports in the coming years, the latest indication the country is bracing for a potential conflict with the United States. Read More Here
With nearly half of the Afghan population facing famine as the war-torn nation’s winter weather starts to bite, the West, China and Russia could tacitly contribute to a humanitarian crisis through their collective failure to provide the Taliban with desperately needed aid. Read More Here
There was a dramatic worsening of world hunger in 2020, the United Nations said today – much of it likely related to the fallout of COVID-19. While the pandemic’s impact has yet to be fully mapped*, a multi-agency report estimates that around a tenth of the global population – up to 811 million people – […]
The world’s food-import bill is expected to climb to an all-time high this year, with the soaring cost of staples hitting poor nations particularly hard and threatening to fuel global inflation. The cost of importing food is set to rise by 12% to $1.72 trillion, led by increases in grains, vegetable oils and oilseeds, the […]
The novel coronavirus has overwhelmed public health systems and jolted economies around the world. Now it is poised to spark a global hunger crisis as well. After decades of progress in the battle against poverty and hunger, the job losses, supply chain disruptions, and other economic dislocations caused by the pandemic threaten to push millions […]
The pandemic is amplifying the risk of a world-wide food-price spike, which would trigger outright crises in many developing countries. Governments must therefore work together to address disruptions to food supply chains and prevent food protectionism from becoming the post-pandemic new normal. Read Here – Project Syndicate
The coronavirus pandemic could seriously disrupt global food supply chains and send prices soaring, especially for those economies with vulnerable supply structures, if major producing countries increase export restrictions, international agencies and food experts have warned. Read Here – South China Morning Post
Global warming is increasingly disrupting weather patterns and precipitation across the planet. In the Hindukush and Himalayan region, however, this will initially result in greater river flows by 2050-60 due to rapidly melting glaciers. Increase in water volumes will mean a higher risk of frequent floods, landslides, bursting of dams, soil erosion and crop failure. […]
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