{"id":48039,"date":"2022-04-12T02:23:40","date_gmt":"2022-04-12T02:23:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=48039"},"modified":"2022-04-12T02:23:40","modified_gmt":"2022-04-12T02:23:40","slug":"saudi-ambassador-hits-ground-running-on-return-to-beirut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=48039","title":{"rendered":"Saudi ambassador hits ground running on return to Beirut"},"content":{"rendered":"
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DUBAI: As Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine entered its second month, having triggered the biggest surge in food prices since the recession of 2008, the World Food Program warned that the world\u2019s hungry simply \u201ccannot afford another conflict.\u201d\u00a0It was no exaggeration.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Soaring prices of food, fertilizer and fuel pose a clear and imminent threat to vulnerable communities and hunger hotspots across the Middle East and North Africa. Entire populations are feeling the adverse effects of a war being fought thousands of miles away from the region.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe consequences of the conflict in Ukraine are radiating outwards, triggering a wave of collateral hunger that is spreading across the globe,\u201d Reem Nada, a spokesperson for WFP MENA, told Arab News.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Given that Russia is the world\u2019s biggest exporter of wheat, and Ukraine the world\u2019s fifth, disruption to the distribution of grain is having a significant impact on the price of staples such as bread on a global scale.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Combined, Russia and Ukraine account for more than half of the world\u2019s sunflower seed oil exports as well as 19 percent of the world\u2019s barley supply, 14 percent of wheat and 4 percent of maize, making up nearly a third of global cereal exports.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nada said that Yemen, Egypt and Lebanon \u2014 three countries that were already reeling from the disruptive effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, conflicts and structural imbalances \u2014 are especially vulnerable to the economic fallout from the war in Ukraine.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the war zone itself, the collapse of Ukraine\u2019s food supply chains has led to shortages in major cities, including the capital Kyiv. Long known as \u201cEurope\u2019s breadbasket,\u201d the country is likely to miss critical planting and harvesting seasons this year, compounding the crisis.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Soaring food prices pose a threat to vulnerable communities across the Middle East and North Africa. (AFP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

At the same time, Western sanctions imposed on Russia, a major exporter of fertilizers including potash, ammonia, urea and other soil nutrients, means farmers are scaling back production or anticipating reduced yields.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As a result, the price of wheat has shot up by 21 percent, barley by 33 percent, and some fertilizers by 40 percent in the last month alone.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cRussia and Ukraine are the largest suppliers of wheat to the Middle East,\u201d Kerry Anderson, a political and business risk consultant, told Arab News.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEgypt is particularly dependent on imports from the two countries, and the spike in bread prices came as the government there was planning to reduce bread subsidies.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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FAST<\/span>FACT<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/p>\n

* Percentage of wheat imports from Ukraine:<\/strong><\/p>\n

– Lebanon: 50 percent<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

– Tunisia: 42 percent<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

– Yemen: 22 percent<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

(Source: WFP)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

More than 70 million Egyptians rely on subsidized bread, according to the WFP. In 2021, roughly 80 percent of the country\u2019s wheat imports came from Russia and Ukraine.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cTunisia, Libya, Lebanon, Turkey and Yemen also are all vulnerable to supply disruptions from Russia and Ukraine and increased prices,\u201d Anderson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Yemen depends almost entirely on food imports, and Ukraine accounted for 31 percent of its wheat supplies during the past three months.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Currently, 31,000 people in Yemen are experiencing famine-like conditions, a number that is expected to soar to 161,000 by June of this year, according to the latest figures from the Integrated Food Phase Classification scale. By the end of the year, 7.3 million people in the war-ravaged country could be at \u201cemergency levels of hunger.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The consequences of the conflict in Ukraine are radiating outwards, triggering a wave of collateral hunger that is spreading across the globe, according to WFP’s Reem Nada. (AFP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThe economic crisis in Yemen \u2014 a by-product of the conflict \u2014 and the depreciation of the currency have already pushed food prices in 2021 to their highest levels since 2015,\u201d Nada said. \u201cThe Ukraine crisis is another blow to Yemen, driving food and fuel prices further up.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The result is an increase in the number of people in need of food assistance from 16.2 million to 17.4 million. Aid agencies warn this number could rise further if funding gaps are not plugged, as the cost of delivering assistance is also rising.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Currently, the WFP has just 31 percent of the funding it needs to continue operations in Yemen over the next six months. \u201cThe Ukraine crisis is making a bad funding situation worse,\u201d Nada said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The situation is similar in Lebanon, which imports about 80 percent of its wheat from Ukraine. Even before the outbreak of war, food prices in Lebanon had risen by nearly 1,000 percent since October 2019, a result of the country\u2019s economic and financial crises, compounded by the Beirut port blast of August 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe war in Ukraine further exacerbates the suffering of millions because of the ongoing economic crisis where more than 80 percent of the population has been plunged into poverty and are in the middle of a humanitarian catastrophe created by a financial meltdown,\u201d Nada told Arab News.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Given that Russia is the world\u2019s biggest exporter of wheat, and Ukraine the world\u2019s fifth, disruption to the distribution of grain is having a significant impact on the price of food staples. (AFP\/File Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

With a growing number of Arab countries in dire need of food assistance, experts in the field of sustainability are searching for innovative solutions to help the region grow and manage its own crops with fewer resources.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFood security is not about just growing a few vegetables but growing a range of cash crops which can grow and be sustained in the region, putting less of a burden on imports,\u201d Chandra Dake, CEO of the UAE-based agri-tech company Dake Rechsand, told Arab News.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To ease the region\u2019s heavy reliance on imports, Dake believes his \u201cmagic sand\u201d technology could help farmers transform desert into arable land capable of growing a variety of fruits, vegetables and even water-intensive crops such as rice.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe now have 28 types of fruit tree that we have grown in the country, which were never grown on a commercial scale,\u201d said Dake of his company\u2019s recent developments in the UAE. \u201cThis is something that can help with food security.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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In the arid Middle East and North Africa, food security is inextricably tied to water security. Poor water conservation and unsustainable farming practices, combined with the creeping effects of climate change, have depleted the region\u2019s natural aquifers and degraded soil quality.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe war in Ukraine erupted at a time when a drought in North Africa was already undermining wheat production there,\u201d Anderson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Striking an equally pessimistic note, Omar Saif, a sustainability consultant at WSP Middle East, said that food security in the Arab region will be further undermined by dwindling water resources. \u201cThe common denominator flowing throughout this is water; more importantly the availability of reliable and sustainable freshwater sources,\u201d he told Arab News.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, there are ways to streamline water management \u2014 through targeted distribution and tariff reform, for instance \u2014 that regional governments can take to enhance food security, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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IN<\/span>NUMBERS<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/p>\n

*\u00a08% – Rise in food prices witnessed in Iraq within 2 weeks of Ukraine invasion. <\/strong><\/p>\n

* 2\/3 – Proportion of people in Yemen who need food assistance simply to survive. <\/strong><\/p>\n

* 12.4m – People in Syria who are deemed food insecure. <\/strong><\/p>\n

(Source: WFP)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cAgricultural policies and fiscal support for farmers could also help alleviate strains on food systems through training, education on optimum crop selection, as well as bans on the production of water-intensive crops with low yield and low returns,\u201d Saif told Arab News.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not about maximizing profit per kilogram of production but providing some level of localized food production for local needs in an environment that is incredibly water-scarce, lacks arable land, and experiences vast seasonal variations in extreme temperature.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

For GCC countries, the challenge will be to \u201cmaximize nutrition per kilogram of production, with as little water inputs as possible.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Elsewhere in the Middle East, however, the food situation is likely to remain precarious. \u201cWFP\u2019s meager resources for operations, in Yemen and Syria especially, will be under even more pressure than before,\u201d Nada told Arab News.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are doing everything possible to mobilize world attention and support \u2014 through governments, the private sector and individuals \u2014 to avoid the need for drastic action later.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DUBAI: As Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine entered its second month, having triggered the biggest surge in food prices since the recession of 2008, the World Food Program warned that the world\u2019s hungry simply \u201ccannot afford another conflict.\u201d\u00a0It was no exaggeration.\u00a0 Soaring prices of food, fertilizer and fuel pose a clear and imminent threat to vulnerable…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spotlight_news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=48039"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48039\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=48039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=48039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=48039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}