White House expresses concern about famine in some countries due to Russia-Ukraine war
Countries in Middle East, parts of Africa, and Far East are having food shortages
Ukraine is the fifth-largest exporter of wheat, and Russia is the seventh-largest exporter of soybeans
U.S. government is concerned that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will cause famine in some parts of the world, as the war is complicating the export of major produces like wheat and soybeans from the two countries.
White House Council of Economic Advisers Chair Cecilia Rouse, on Friday, in an interview, told CNBC the Biden Administration is working with international aid agencies to provide humanitarian aid.
“We are concerned, particularly in the Middle East, parts of Africa, and the Far East ... about famines and shortages in those parts of the world,” Rouse said.
Russia and Ukraine serve as “the breadbasket” for many parts of the world. While Ukraine is the fifth-largest exporter of wheat, Russia is the seventh-largest exporter of soybeans worldwide.
Other than wheat and soybeans, there are other agricultural products, including sunflower seeds, to produce edible oil, to which Ukraine holds the crown for the largest exporter.
Moreover, the war is complicating efforts to plant these key crops, as well as export them. Higher energy and fertilizer prices are compounding the problem.
The war in Ukraine has further increased food prices after two years of disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The situation in East Africa is worrisome as Russia and Ukraine are responsible for about 90% of the wheat imported to the region, according to the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP).
In March, Jakob Kern, the WFP’s emergency coordinator for Ukraine, said the agency buys nearly half of its wheat export from Ukraine to supply them to other countries.
However, WFP is paying an extra $71 million a month to procure wheat and other agricultural produce from the war-ridden country in 2022 due to both inflation and the crisis, Kern said, mentioning that such an amount would cover the food supplies for 4 million people.