Millions on brink of starving over dwindling wheat exports
Canadians being urged to help fill the shortage
The UN World Food Program has warned that millions of people in the developing world and conflict zones are on the brink of starvation following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, one of the world’s biggest wheat exporters.
It is asking Canada and other major wheat exporters to open up their silos to urgently fill the shortage, which it said could lead to millions going hungry in countries including Ethiopia, Yemen and Sudan.
The UN program and many countries in the developing world, including Lebanon and Bangladesh, rely on Ukraine, known as the breadbasket of Europe, for its wheat supplies.
But the spike in the cost of grain and the disruption to supplies from Ukraine and Russia has raised the alarm about a global food crisis.
On Friday, Canada’s Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau will attend an emergency meeting of her G7 counterparts to discuss the impact of the Russian invasion on global food security.
Marianne Dandurand, a spokesperson for the minister, says Canada is very aware of the serious situation and wants to help.
Canada is one of the world’s biggest wheat exporters and usually has stockpiles of grain. But last year’s harvest, as in the U.S., was hit by drought and that has meant supplies are not as plentiful as usual.
Arif Husain, chief economist at the World Food Program, said the humanitarian organization itself sourced 789,000 tonnes of its wheat supplies from Ukraine last year.
He said another 158,000 tonnes came from Russia. The organization also buys wheat from Canada, one of its biggest financial backers.
He called on Canada and other grain exporters to step in to fill the gap either by making donations from their stocks or selling their supplies at a discount to aid agencies.
“This is as bad as it gets,” Husain said. “It is necessary for the large producers like Canada, like Australia, to please open your hearts and provide wheat to the aid agencies.
“In Yemen alone, five million people are literally a step away from famine.”
The price of wheat has risen sharply since the war began, making it more expensive for developing countries, aid agencies and other importers.
Shipping companies that usually transport grain and vegetable oil from Ukraine and Russia are unable to approach ports safely.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday during his visit to London that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was having a “ripple effect” across the world, including to the UN World Food Program.
Sandra McCardell, an assistant deputy minister at Global Affairs Canada, told the Senate foreign affairs committee last week that the federal government was “looking at contingencies” for the expected food shortage.