Media: Global food system under threat as wheat crisis escalates

The global wheat market is facing an unprecedented crisis driven by extreme drought, climate anomalies and armed conflicts along key trade routes, The New York Times (NYT) writes.

According to the report, these simultaneous disruptions highlight the vulnerabilities built into today’s global food system. Just a handful of crops, particularly wheat, account for a large share of the world’s calorie supply, while wheat exports are concentrated among a relatively small number of major suppliers, including Russia, Canada, the United States, Ukraine, and the European Union.

“The system we currently have in place depends on three things: seamless trade, cheap energy, stable climate. Today, it seems none of these assumptions are met,” said Evan Fraser, a professor at the University of Guelph who studies global food systems.

The trade in agricultural products has been severely disrupted by fighting between Russia and Ukraine in the Black Sea and attacks by the Houthis in the Red Sea, forcing ships to take routes around Africa.

The situation is being further exacerbated by drought and extreme heat in major grain-exporting countries. The United States is expected to have its worst wheat harvest in half a century, while lower yields are also forecast in France and Germany.

In addition, the El Niño climate phenomenon has reduced water levels along key transport routes, including the Panama Canal, Rhine and Danube rivers, driving up logistics costs.

According to estimates by the World Food Programme, the number of people facing acute food insecurity could rise to 274 million as a result of the crisis. Import-dependent countries that cannot meet their populations’ needs domestically are expected to bear the brunt of the impact.

“It is naïve to think we can rely on a food system built for a different era,” Fraser added. “And so we need to reimagine how to feed ourselves.”

By Jeyhun Aghazada