UN Secretary General António Guterres. File photoWASHINGTON, June 8.High fertilizer costs resulting from conflict in Ukraine threaten shortages of all major crops, potentially affecting «billions of people,» UN Secretary-General António Guterres said. «Fertilizer prices have more than doubled, which is alarming everywhere. Without fertilizer, corn and wheat shortages will spread to all major crops, including rice, with a devastating impact on billions of people in Asia and South America,» Guterres said during the briefing of the Global Food, Energy and Financial Crisis Response Group. As noted by the Secretary General of the world organization, the food crisis this year is largely due to a shortage of fertilizers, which next year could result in a «food shortage.» Russia and Belarus, which fell under Western sanctions countries in connection with the events in Ukraine, are the world's largest producers potash fertilizers. As a result of the introduced restrictions, the access of this category of goods to world markets turned out to be limited.
