Putin’s war risks more global hunger, destabilizing poor nations (Bloomberg)

Bloomberg published an article that stated President Joe Biden and the leaders of top U.S. allies are exploring how to keep Russia’s invasion of Ukraine from causing a spike in global hunger as the war increasingly disrupts supplies of wheat and other goods from a region known as one of the world’s breadbaskets. The prospect of international food shortages is “going to be real,” Biden said. In Egypt, where increases in the price of government-subsidized bread have been politically perilous, the cost of offsetting higher wheat prices will run $2.6 billion, or 0.6 percent of gross domestic product, according to estimates by Joseph Glauber and David Laborde of IFPRI. In Yemen, a country that depends heavily on international assistance, the added cost will be about $840 million, or 3.6 percent of GDP.” Glauber added, ” the world has enough wheat and other grain in storage to avert shortages but tapping into reserves will only increase costs. The USDA estimates the world has enough wheat from prior harvests to cover about a third of annual consumption, with some of the stockpile held by private traders and some by governments.”  “This isn’t a question of running out,” Glauber said. “Stocks will be drawn down to a lower level and you’re going to see higher prices.” Republished in MoneyWeb, Yahoo Finance, Murray Ledger, and Flipboard.