War in Ukraine: How wheat became a geopolitical weapon
Wheat
Ukraine
Published May 28, 2022
Original content
If the question of Europe's dependence on Russian gas and oil is at the center of the conflict being played out between Russia and Ukraine, that of wheat is just as sensitive, if not even more worrying. Thanks to its very fertile lands, Ukraine was in 2018 the 5th world producer of corn, the 8th producer of wheat, the first producer of sunflower, the third producer of buckwheat. Overall, in the world, 12% of grain exports come from Ukraine. And if we add Russia, which cannot export its grain because of international sanctions, that's a third of the world's wheat that comes from the two countries. However, many states are very dependent on Ukrainian wheat. Its productions feed the world market because Ukraine has limited domestic needs and can therefore export massively. In theory. The Russian invasion has indeed completely changed the situation, the Ukrainian ports are blocked by the Russians, paralyzed exports: 20 million tons of cereals are on hold. Consequence: wheat prices ...
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