Food prices spiraling out of control amidst ongoing crises

Global food prices are surging at the fastest pace ever as the war in Ukraine chokes crop supplies, piling more inflationary pain on consumers and worsening a global hunger crisis.

The war has wreaked havoc on supply chains in the crucial Black Sea breadbasket region, upending global trade flows and fueling panic about shortages of key staples such as wheat and cooking oils. That’s sent food prices – – which were already surging before the conflict started – – to a record, with a United Nations’ index of world costs soaring another 13% last month.

Ukraine’s ports are closed and many vessels are avoiding the region, which accounts for about a quarter of all grains trade. Farmers in Ukraine, the top sunflower-oil exporter, are expected to drastically cut crop plantings and the nation is struggling to export supplies already harvested. Elsewhere in the world, high energy and fertilizer prices are raising food-production costs, which is feeding through to bigger grocery bills or threatening output.

The food price rally is felt most in poor countries where groceries make up a large share of consumer budgets – and the fallout from Russia’s invasion has sent costs of basic foods like bread soaring.