Agricultural commodity prices increased 35%
Rising energy and food prices due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine could exacerbate existing food security concerns in the Middle East and Africa, and could lead to growing social unrest, said Carmen Reinhart, chief economist at the World Bank.
Germany is hosting an online meeting of the agriculture ministers of the Group of Seven industrialized nations on Friday to discuss the implications of the invasion, amid growing concerns about the stability of food markets.
"There will be important implications for the Middle East, Africa, North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, in particular," which is already suffering from food insecurity, Reinhart said in an interview with Reuters.
Sudden increases in food prices can lead to social unrest, as happened in 2007-2008 and again in 2011, when riots in more than 40 countries were linked to higher global food prices.
The World Bank said last month, days after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, that agricultural commodity prices had already increased 35% year-on-year, and are expected to continue rising due to the war, given that Russia and Ukraine are major exporters of wheat, corn, barley and sunflower oil.
Moscow describes what it is doing in Ukraine as a "special operation".
The World Bank warned last month that the fallout could be particularly severe in the Middle East and North Africa.
Reinhart said Central Asian countries also face significant economic challenges due to their close economic and trade ties with Russia, which the International Monetary Fund expects will slip into recession this year due to Western sanctions.
The Source
- reuters.com