NEW DELHI: According to the BBC, World Food Programme (WFP) head David Beasley has warned that the conflict in Ukraine could cause global food prices to skyrocket, wreaking havoc on the world's poorest.
Beasley said, the conflict is putting more people at risk of starvation around the world. "Just when you think hell on earth can't get any worse, it does," the WFP chief was quoted as saying by the BBC.
Russia and Ukraine, dubbed "Europe's breadbasket," export nearly a quarter of the world's wheat and half of its sunflower products, such as seeds and oil. Ukraine also exports a lot of corn to other countries.
The BBC that the number of people facing potential starvation had already risen from 80 million to 276 million in the four years preceding Russia's invasion, owing to a "perfect storm" of conflict, climate change, and the Covid-19 pandemic. Because of the high proportion of grains they currently import from the Black Sea region, he believes certain countries will be particularly affected by the current crisis.
According to Ukrainian lawyer Ivanna Dorichenko, an expert in international trade arbitration, some farmers in the country have already abandoned their fields to fight the Russian invasion.
World food prices reached an all-time high in February
