Global food prices stayed near a record as the conflict in Ukraine disrupted trade, fuelling hunger and worsening a cost-of-living crisis.
The conflict has sharply reduced exports from Ukraine, one of the world’s biggest grain and vegetable oil shippers.
The blockade of key Black Sea ports has exacerbated supply-chain turmoil, sending prices soaring and prompting the United Nations to warn that food shortages may spur millions of people to migrate. A UN gauge of global food costs fell 0,6 percent in May from the previous month. Vegetable oil prices declined 3,5 percent, partly due to the removal of Indonesia’s export ban on palm oil, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation said. Farmers are facing record high energy and input costs, and the UN has said a lack of fertiliser could deepen the food crisis in 2023. − Bloomberg