A food crisis was brewing even before the Ukraine war- but taking these three steps could help the most vulnerable

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to the disruption, by sanctions or war, of two of the world’s largest grain exporters. This means 2022 is shaping up to be a very difficult year for the global food system. Yet there were concerns that this system was creaking at the seams as far back as 2007. At...

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Main Authors: Headey, Derek D., Hirvonen, Kalle
Format: Book Chapter
Language:Inglés
Published: International Food Policy Research Institute 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/140059
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author Headey, Derek D.
Hirvonen, Kalle
author_browse Headey, Derek D.
Hirvonen, Kalle
author_facet Headey, Derek D.
Hirvonen, Kalle
author_sort Headey, Derek D.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to the disruption, by sanctions or war, of two of the world’s largest grain exporters. This means 2022 is shaping up to be a very difficult year for the global food system. Yet there were concerns that this system was creaking at the seams as far back as 2007. At that time, there were steeply rising food prices driven by rising oil prices, explosive demand for corn-based biofuels, high shipping costs, financial market speculation, low grain reserves, severe weather disruptions in some major grain produc ers, and a swath of nervy trade policies leading to further shocks that worsened the problem. The World Food Program’s director general described it as a “perfect storm.” Prices spiked again in 2011/12 before gradually receding. In retrospect, those storms might now appear temperate in comparison to that we face in 2022. Even before the current crisis unfolded, food, fertilizer, oil, and shipping costs were rising steeply. The FAO cereal price index shows prices hit their 2008 level in 2021, and since the invasion they have explod ed. Between 2019 and March 2022, cereal prices increased by 48%, fuel prices by 86%, and fertilizer prices by 35% (Figure 1). Here are three factors that we think make the situation in 2022 much worse, and three measures that could help prevent a global food supply system collapse
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spelling CGSpace1400592025-11-06T04:01:43Z A food crisis was brewing even before the Ukraine war- but taking these three steps could help the most vulnerable Headey, Derek D. Hirvonen, Kalle cereal products shock policies war coronavirus covid-19 agriculture markets trade coronavirinae food security conflicts coronavirus disease prices climate change Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to the disruption, by sanctions or war, of two of the world’s largest grain exporters. This means 2022 is shaping up to be a very difficult year for the global food system. Yet there were concerns that this system was creaking at the seams as far back as 2007. At that time, there were steeply rising food prices driven by rising oil prices, explosive demand for corn-based biofuels, high shipping costs, financial market speculation, low grain reserves, severe weather disruptions in some major grain produc ers, and a swath of nervy trade policies leading to further shocks that worsened the problem. The World Food Program’s director general described it as a “perfect storm.” Prices spiked again in 2011/12 before gradually receding. In retrospect, those storms might now appear temperate in comparison to that we face in 2022. Even before the current crisis unfolded, food, fertilizer, oil, and shipping costs were rising steeply. The FAO cereal price index shows prices hit their 2008 level in 2021, and since the invasion they have explod ed. Between 2019 and March 2022, cereal prices increased by 48%, fuel prices by 86%, and fertilizer prices by 35% (Figure 1). Here are three factors that we think make the situation in 2022 much worse, and three measures that could help prevent a global food supply system collapse 2023-07-11 2024-03-14T12:08:52Z 2024-03-14T12:08:52Z Book Chapter https://hdl.handle.net/10568/140059 en https://doi.org/10.2499/9780896294394 https://www.ifpri.org/blog/food-crisis-was-brewing-even-ukraine-war-%E2%80%93-taking-these-three-steps-could-help-most-vulnerable Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Headey, Derek D.; and Hirvonen, Kalle. 2023. A food crisis was brewing even before the Ukraine war- but taking these three steps could help the most vulnerable. In The Russia-Ukraine Conflict and Global Food Security. Section One: A Conflict with Global Consequences, Chapter 2, Pp. 15-17. https://doi.org/10.2499/9780896294394_02.
spellingShingle cereal products
shock
policies
war
coronavirus
covid-19
agriculture
markets
trade
coronavirinae
food security
conflicts
coronavirus disease
prices
climate change
Headey, Derek D.
Hirvonen, Kalle
A food crisis was brewing even before the Ukraine war- but taking these three steps could help the most vulnerable
title A food crisis was brewing even before the Ukraine war- but taking these three steps could help the most vulnerable
title_full A food crisis was brewing even before the Ukraine war- but taking these three steps could help the most vulnerable
title_fullStr A food crisis was brewing even before the Ukraine war- but taking these three steps could help the most vulnerable
title_full_unstemmed A food crisis was brewing even before the Ukraine war- but taking these three steps could help the most vulnerable
title_short A food crisis was brewing even before the Ukraine war- but taking these three steps could help the most vulnerable
title_sort food crisis was brewing even before the ukraine war but taking these three steps could help the most vulnerable
topic cereal products
shock
policies
war
coronavirus
covid-19
agriculture
markets
trade
coronavirinae
food security
conflicts
coronavirus disease
prices
climate change
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/140059
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