Experts: Mideast Nations Dependent on Ukraine and Russia for Wheat May Face Crisis

Countries across the Middle East and North Africa that rely heavily upon Ukraine and Russia for wheat imports may face a food crisis in the near future if Kyiv and Moscow remain at war, regional experts told Al Jazeera on Tuesday.

Ukraine and Russia account for over 30 percent of the world’s wheat trade. Russia is the world’s top wheat exporter and third-largest producer of the cereal crop, while Ukraine is among the top five exporters of wheat globally. The outbreak of war between Russia and Ukraine on February 24 threatens to disrupt crucial wheat exports from these two neighbors to several nations that have grown heavily dependent on Ukrainian and Russian wheat in recent years.  These countries include Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Lebanon, Israel, and Turkey.

“[A] protracted war in Ukraine can affect the harvest in that country, and therefore global supplies,” Karabekir Akkoyunlu, a Middle Eastern studies lecturer at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, told Al Jazeera on March 1.

“Egypt relies on Russia and Ukraine for 85 percent of its wheat imports, Tunisia relies on Ukraine for between 50 and 60 percent of its wheat imports,” Monica Marks, a professor of Middle Eastern politics at New York University Abu Dhabi, told the Qatari news outlet on Tuesday.- READ MORE