The instability of food security in the world will grow if shipments to Ukrainian ports are not unblocked, the expert believes.
The number of hungry and malnourished people on the planet could reach 220 million due to food shortages and high cost of both food and fertilizer. This was announced on Friday, May 27, by the vice director of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (Food and Agriculture Organization – FAO), former Italian Minister of Agriculture Maurizio Martina, the Corriere della sera newspaper writes.
He said the number of hungry people in the world was increasing even before the war started in Ukraine and reached nearly 200 million people in 53 countries by 2021.
“The war will further aggravate the hunger situation. According to our initial estimates, the number of hungry people could rise by another 18 million, although much depends on further developments,” Martina said.
He added that six million tonnes of grain and nearly 14 million tonnes of corn are currently being blocked in Ukrainian ports.
“If these shipments are not unblocked, the level of food security instability in the world will increase. The consequence of this situation is rising prices and shortage of fertilizers,” he said.
Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the world was facing an explosive rise in food prices due to Russia’s war against Ukraine.
There are about 10 weeks of wheat left in the world.
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.