CAIRO — Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could mean less bread on the table in Egypt, Lebanon, Yemen and elsewhere in the Arab world where millions already struggle to survive.
The region is heavily dependent on wheat supplies from the two countries which are now at war, and any shortages of the staple food have potential to bring unrest.
If those supplies are disrupted, “the Ukraine crisis could trigger renewed protests and instability” in several Middle East and North Africa countries, the Washington-based Middle East Institute said.
The generals now ruling in Khartoum after an October coup have not forgotten: In 2019 one of their own, Field Marshall Omar al-Bashir, Sudan’s longtime autocrat, was toppled by his military under pressure from mass demonstrations triggered by a tripling of the bread price.
Sudan is already facing regular anti-coup protests but seems to have taken the initiative to avoid demonstrations over bread.
When Russia’s invasion began on Thursday, the second-highest figure in Sudan’s ruling Sovereign Council was in Moscow to discuss trade ties.
Bread is already a luxury for millions in Yemen, where a seven-year war has pushed the country to the brink of famine.
Russia is the world’s top wheat exporter and Ukraine the fourth, according to estimates by the US Department of Agriculture.
Moscow’s invasion pushed the wheat price far above its previous record high in European trading to 344 euros ($384) a tonne on Thursday.
David Beasley, the World Food Programme’s executive director, said the Ukraine-Russia area provides half the agency’s grains. The war, he said, “is going to have a dramatic impact”. (©Philippine Daily Inquirer 2022)
