Wheat harvestMOSCOW, Apr 30The Ukrainian crisis threatens grain supplies to the Middle East and North Africa, leading to starvation and a mass exodus of the population to Europe, according to a CNBC material. Russia and Ukraine account for about one third of world wheat exports, 20% of corn and up to 80% of sunflower oil. These two countries are the main suppliers of food to the states of North Africa and the Middle East. With the onset of the Ukrainian crisis, prices for wheat and other agricultural products rose sharply. In many countries in the Middle East and North Africa, inflation has surged, with food prices up 34% from last year, for example. According to CNBC, Egypt and Tunisia buy 80% of their wheat from Ukraine and Russia, Lebanon — 60%. According to economist Amer Alhussein, the Ukrainian crisis could greatly affect Egypt, where stability in the country is largely provided by bread subsidies. Lebanon is also in serious trouble as the country is heading towards imminent famine, which could lead to riots.In Britain, they announced the threat of world hunger due to sanctions against Russia, Executive Director of the World Food Program David Beasley, in turn, urged to prepare for the real consequences of the Ukrainian crisis by the fall — then, due to lack of food, mass migration will begin. «If we ignore the Northern Africa, North Africa will come to Europe. If we ignore the Middle East, the Middle East will come to Europe,» he added. Western countries imposed sanctions against Russia after the start of a special military operation to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine. First of all, the measures affected the banking sector and the supply of high-tech products. In Europe, calls to reduce dependence on Russian energy sources have become louder, and many brands have announced their withdrawal from Russia. The sanctions pressure has already turned into economic problems for the US and Europe, causing a serious increase in fuel and food prices. The Kremlin called the restrictions an economic war, but noted the readiness for such a development of events. The Bank of Russia takes measures to stabilize the situation on the foreign exchange market; payments for gas supplies to unfriendly countries were transferred to rubles. In addition, the government has prepared a plan to counter restrictive measures, which includes about a hundred initiatives. The volume of its funding will be about a trillion rubles.
