Russian incursions, including blockades of Ukrainian ports, disrupted food supplies from Ukraine. Ukraine is a major grain exporter and has long been known as the breadbasket of Europe. The UN’s World Food Programme last week called for the immediate reopening of Ukrainian ports “before the current global hunger crisis spirals out of control “. Energy prices have been rising since before the war, prompting many fertilizer producers to slow production or close factories. As fertilizer costs have skyrocketed, many farmers around the world are reducing their use of fertilizers, resulting in smaller harvests. Bad weather added to the challenge. This spring, India, a major wheat exporter, was scorching hot, while crops in the southern U.S. Great Plains and East Africa were also hit by drought. “44 million people around the world are going hungry,” the World Food Programme warned on Friday.
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