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Wheat prices shot up on global commodity markets after Russia pulled out of a deal to keep grain exports moving out of Ukrainian ports, exacerbating concerns that the move by Moscow could worsen global food shortages.
“Each fraction of a percentage point pushes someone somewhere over the line to extreme poverty,” United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths told the body’s Security Council on Monday.
Soft red wheat futures jumped 7 percent from Friday to Monday, while contracts for hard red wheat rose 6 percent.
Moscow’s move adds more pressure to international grain prices that are already up 11.2 percent since last year, according to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation’s (FAO) cereal price index.
In the U.S., cereal and bakery products are up 16.2 percent since last year, according to the Labor Department. U.S. food prices in general are up 11.2 percent amid a broader rise in consumer prices now standing at 8.2 percent over 2021.
“We urge the Government of Russia to resume its participation in the Initiative,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement over the weekend, adding that “Russia is again weaponizing food in the war it started.”
His call was repeated by other international diplomats at a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Monday, who noted both the commercial and humanitarian benefits of the grain deal, known as the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
So far, more than 9.5 million metric tons of agricultural products have been conveyed to global markets under the auspices of the deal.
Russia suspended its participation in the grain export initiative because it said its vessels had been attacked on Saturday morning by Ukraine. But the U.N.’s Griffiths told reporters that this wouldn’t constitute a breach of the agreement that’s facilitated the transport of food.
“The attack took place at 4 a.
