Russia-Ukraine crisis poses a serious threat to Egypt – the world’s largest wheat importer (The Conversation)

The Conversation published an op-ed by IFPRI researchers, Kibrom Abay, Clemens Breisinger, David Laborde Debucquet, Joseph Glauber, and Lina Alaaeldin Abdelfattah. The authors write that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could create a global food security crisis. It is disrupting agricultural production and trade from one of the world’s major exporting regions. This threatens to drive rising food prices still higher and create scarcity, especially for regions most dependent on exports from Russia and Ukraine. Particularly affected are the Middle East and North Africa – or MENA – region. These Arab countries consume the highest wheat per capita, about 128 kg of wheat per capita, which is twice the world average. More than half of this comes from Russia and Ukraine.  Wheat is a key food item for Egypt, representing between 35 percent and 39 percent of caloric intake per person in the last few years. And wheat imports usually account for about 62 percent of total wheat use in the country. Egypt can mitigate some of these impacts with short-term actions, but major global shocks like the Russia-Ukraine war are also reminders of the need of longer-term reforms and solutions. Republished in MENAFN. and Modern Ghana. AllAfrica, Lindro (Italy), Flipboard