UN: Food crisis will turn into global disaster next year

The food crisis will turn into a global disaster next year, Secretary-General of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Rebeca Grynspan, said.

She noted that the crisis that emerged from the withdrawal of the Russian and Ukrainian agricultural products and fertilizers from the world markets poses a threat of a global catastrophe in 2023.

"The current food crisis could quickly turn into a global food disaster in 2023. Energy prices have risen, and restrictions on fertilizer exports from the Black Sea region have pushed up fertilizer prices faster than food prices,” she said.

Grynspan noted that if the conflict and high prices for grain and fertilizers continue until the next planting season, the current crisis could spread to other major crops, especially rice.

The UN representative stressed that in order to prevent such a scenario, food products from Ukraine, as well as food and fertilizers from Russia should be returned to world markets.

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