Leaders declare food crisis while grain sits in Ukraine

Ukraine is one of the world’s largest exporters of wheat, corn, and sunflower oil, but the war and Russia’s blockade of its ports has choked exportation, endangering the world food supply. Together, Russia and Ukraine supply about a third of the world’s grain, with Ukraine providing about half of the grain the World Food Program buys to feed 125 million people worldwide. European countries have been exporting some Ukrainian grain via train, but the millions of tons require ships, which are stuck in harbors.

Will Russia negotiate? It has proposed a corridor through the Black Sea blockades, and Ukrainian officials said they agree on principle but worry that Russia will violate the agreement and send warships through the corridor. Russia is having difficulty exporting its own grain, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov blamed the West, saying its sanctions are unlawful. But U.S. officials said that food, fertilizer, and seeds are exempt from sanctions.

Dig deeper: Read Onize Ohikere’s report in World Tour on the global food crisis.