Escalating tensions between the world’s top crop exporters, Russia and Ukraine, are likely to force buyers of wheat, corn and oil to look for alternative sources of supply. This will further raise global food prices, which are already close to multi-year lows, analysts and traders say.
This is reported by ProAgro Group, citing Reuters.
Global stock markets fell and crude oil rose to $97 a barrel on Tuesday, Feb. 22, as Europe’s eastern flank was on the brink of war after Russia’s president ordered troops into two eastern regions of Ukraine outside Kiev’s control.
Because the two countries account for about 29 percent of global wheat exports, 19 percent of global corn shipments and 80 percent of global sunflower oil exports, traders fear that any military intervention could affect shipments and provoke importers to seek alternative sources of supply.
