Yemen and Libya import respectively 22% and 43% of their total wheat consumption from Ukraine, while in 2020 Ukraine also exported more than 20% of its wheat to Malaysia, Indonesia and Bangladesh.
Russia and Ukraine account for up to a third of wheat exports globally, with many of these exports going to the Middle East to keep bread prices affordable, according to the American Wall Street Journal.
The world’s worst scenario
More recently, more than 40% of Ukraine’s annual corn and wheat shipments go to the Middle East or Africa, and historical droughts in those countries last year exacerbated grain needs as local food prices soared.
Escalating tensions on the borders of Russia and Ukraine pushed the Chicago wheat futures contracts to rise by more than 7% during the month of January to about $8 per bushel.
Ukraine is known as the “bread basket of Europe” and is responsible for 10% of the world’s wheat exports. Ukraine and Russia are also major suppliers to Egypt, the world’s largest importer of wheat, according to the newspaper.
Analysts say the Russian incursion into Ukraine and Western sanctions that limit Russian exports would represent a global worst-case scenario and could deprive world markets of wheat supplies to both countries.
Andrei Sizov, managing director of Sofikon, a Russian research company focused on grain markets in the Black Sea, told the Wall Street Journal that damage to Ukraine’s agricultural infrastructure could lead to a 10 percent increase in prices. And 20%.
Buyers in the Middle East take advantage of the short sea route through the Bosphorus and will have to pay more in shipping costs to bring wheat from the United States or Australia.
Dr. Nabil Rashwan, an expert in Russian affairs, says that the Ukrainian-Russian crisis may affect wheat prices, because the two countries are major exporters around the world.
He added, in statements to “Sky News Arabia”, that “Russia and Ukraine may refrain from exporting part of the wheat quota, in anticipation of the possibility of war against the backdrop of the current crisis,” noting that the price of bread rose by about 30% in Russia.
Rashwan stresses that “there will be no war, but Russia is anticipating an exacerbation of the crisis with Ukraine in the coming period,” and continues that “Washington is fabricating news about the Ukrainian crisis, which has negatively affected Kiev’s economy.”
Ukraine is number one in the world
During the last decade, Ukraine rose to the first places in grain exports, as it aimed this year to occupy the third place in wheat and fourth in corn.
And the Russian occupation of Ukrainian lands 8 years ago did not impede grain exports, but it is fears of instability in the Ukrainian currency that may affect crop exports, according to “Reuters”.
Alex Smith, an agricultural analyst for the American newspaper “Washington Post”, says that threats to Ukraine’s wheat exports pose the greatest threat to global food security.
He adds that if there is an attack on Ukraine, it could lead to a Russian takeover of the land, which could lead to a drop in wheat production as farmers flee and infrastructure is destroyed.
On the other hand, Ukraine exported more than 8 million tons of corn to China in 2020, which is just over a quarter of Ukraine’s total corn exports that year, according to the USDA. United States of America.
According to “Reuters”, grain exports are the cornerstone of the Ukrainian economy, and the country is expected to export more than three-quarters of its domestic corn and wheat this year.
Ukraine is also increasingly important for oilseeds because it accounts for half of the world’s sunflower oil exports, and is the third source of rapeseed.
This year, Ukraine is expected to account for 12% of world wheat exports, 16% for corn, 18% for barley, and 19% for rapeseed.
Commenting, Moroccan researcher in international relations Nabil Andalusi said that Morocco is studying multiple scenarios to ensure the main supplies of wheat in light of the crisis between Russia and Ukraine, especially since the two countries are major exporters of wheat in the world.
He added, in a statement to the online newspaper, Hespress, that “the Russian-Ukrainian crisis will have serious economic repercussions, and there is no doubt in the event of continued escalation and the outbreak of war between the two countries.”
Andalusi explained that “the crisis will be severe for a number of countries in the Middle East and North Africa, including Morocco, of course, because wheat is one of the most important basic materials for the Moroccan people because of its dietary pattern.”
Egypt will not be affected
On the impact of the Ukrainian crisis on wheat supplies to Egypt, Dr. Ali Al-Moselhi, the Egyptian Minister of Supply, confirmed that we have taken precautionary measures to secure wheat stocks and have worked to diversify import sources such as the United States, France, Russia, Romania and Ukraine.
According to a statement, the Egyptian Ministry of Supply has created a strategic reserve of wheat that will suffice for more than 5 months, and the crisis will not affect wheat supplies to Egypt.
On the impact of the crisis on the global food market, Al-Moselhi says: “The presence of skirmishes between the world’s largest exporters of wheat and grain raises a state of uncertainty in the market.”
The West accuses Russia of planning to “invade Ukraine”, while Moscow denies these allegations and holds its Western partners responsible for “fueling hysteria”.
Statements from the United States about an imminent attack by Russia on Ukraine have shaken global financial markets.
Oil prices also recorded their highest level in more than 7 years, amid fears of US sanctions against Russia and disruption of energy exports from the world’s largest producer.