With few good solutions — one option put forward appears to be a risky naval escort — the United States and its allies have sought to make it clear who they feel is responsible. Accusing Russia of “blackmail,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said this week that the Kremlin was holding back its own supplies of grain after attacking Ukrainian storage facilities and seizing stocks, all while blockading the country’s ports. “The consequences of these shameful acts are […]

As Russia’s ground war in Ukraine falters, its naval vessels have made strides in the Black Sea, seizing control of Ukraine’s coastline in a way that allows them to launch strikes at targets inland and tighten a blockade on Ukraine’s exports. Now, Western governments are scrambling to find ways to break the blockade and ease the strains on the global commodities and agricultural markets rocked by the war. Ukraine, referred to as the “breadbasket of Europe,” feeds some 400 million […]

Apocalypse is an alarming idea, commonly taken to denote catastrophic destruction foreshadowing the end of the world. But in the original Greek, apokálypsis means a revelation or an uncovering. One vernacular definition is “to take the lid off something”. That latter feat is exactly what Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, achieved last week, possibly inadvertently, when he suggested Britain was facing “apocalyptic” levels of food price inflation. Tory ministers fumed over what they saw as implied criticism […]

India, the world’s second-largest wheat producer, has banned exports of the grain with some exceptions, a move that could compound a worldwide shortfall worsened by the war in Ukraine and exacerbate an already dire forecast for hunger across the globe. The war has interrupted wheat production in Ukraine and Russia, which are major suppliers. Fighting and blockades in the Black Sea have disrupted transport of the grain. And poor harvests in China, along with a heat wave in India and […]

Sign up for The Weekly Planet, Robinson Meyer’s newsletter about living through climate change, here. For the past few days, a heat wave of mind-boggling scale and intensity has gripped South Asia. More than 1 billion people in India and Pakistan have endured daytime highs of 40 degrees Celsius, or 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Delhi, the world’s second-largest city, has suffered through back-to-back days of 110-degree Fahrenheit heat. And Nawabshah, Pakistan—a city of nearly 230,000 people in the country’s desert south—came […]

The rolling crises of the past few years rendered visible so many vital commodities that plenty of us never gave much thought — nickel, silicon chips, lumber. The latest entrant into this camp: Fertilizer. Why it matters: Skyrocketing fertilizer costs — like those made from nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK) — are driving up food prices and, worse, threatening food security around the globe. State of play: Prices for NPK were up 125% in January from a year before, and […]

She blamed it squarely on “Putin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.” May 1, 2022, 3:35 PM • 5 min read Share to FacebookShare to TwitterEmail this article Samantha Power, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, said the costs of the war in Ukraine include global food and fertilizer shortages, impacting prices for consumers and farmers around the world. “It is just another catastrophic effect of Putin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine,” Power told ABC “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos on […]

As anyone who drives is aware, gasoline prices are up a lot from their 2020 low. First, global economic recovery drove up oil demand, then Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine cut into Russian oil exports. But prices both at the pump and at the wellhead have stabilized, at least for now. By historical standards, real gas prices — prices relative to the overall cost of living — aren’t that high; in fact, they’re lower than they were from 2006 to […]

Ban ‘totally unexpected’ – India trade group U.S. urges cooperation rather than export bans Indonesian govt under pressure to control cooking oil prices Global prices at records this year after Indonesian curbs Edible oils markets roiled by Ukraine conflict; few replacements JAKARTA, April 22 (Reuters) – Indonesia, the world’s top palm oil producer, announced plans to ban exports of the most widely used vegetable oil on Friday, in a shock move that could further inflame surging global food inflation. The […]

Alongside the sugarcane and soyabeans that sprout from his fields in the interior of São Paulo state, this year José Odilon De Lima Neto plans on sowing a different crop for the first time. “There may be an investment opportunity in wheat due to complications for summer planting in Ukraine and Russia,” said the farmer based near the city of Ribeirão Preto. International prices for the cereal have surged since Moscow invaded its neighbour, reflecting worries that the warring nations […]