(Rome) The World Food Program (WFP) warned on Friday of an impending food crisis in the regions affected by the war in Ukraine and of the risks of aggravated famine in the world due to the interruption of production and exports of products such as cereals.
Posted at 1:59 p.m.
At a time “when the world is already facing an unprecedented level of hunger, it is particularly tragic to see hunger appear in [un pays] which has long been the breadbasket of Europe,” said WFP director David Beasley.
“Bullets and bombs in Ukraine can take the global food crisis to levels never seen before,” said Beasley, who traveled to the Polish-Ukrainian border where thousands of Ukrainian refugees.
The WFP, a UN agency based in Rome, has set up centers in countries bordering Ukraine to help deliver food to Ukraine and help refugees.
Moscow and Kyiv agreed on Thursday on humanitarian corridors, eight days after the start of the invasion of Ukraine by Russian military forces.
There are reports of “serious shortages” of food and water in Kyiv and Kharkiv, the WFP said in a statement.
“With food aid shipments arriving every day, WFP is racing against time to pre-position food in areas where fighting is expected to flare up,” says WFP.
Russia and Ukraine account for 29% of world wheat exports. Serious disruptions in production and exports are likely to drive up food prices which are already at an all-time high, according to the WFP.
“This will erode the food security of millions of people”, especially those who are already on the brink of starvation “due to high levels of food price inflation in their country”, worries the WFP.
The price hike could cost WFP an additional $60 million to $75 million a month in operational expenses, the statement said.