Russian war in world’s ‘breadbasket’ threatens food supply

By JOSEPH WILSON, SAMY MAGDY, AYA BATRAWY and CHINEDU ASADU
Associated Press

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — The Russian tanks and missiles besieging Ukraine also are threatening the food supply and livelihoods of people in Europe, Africa and Asia who rely on the vast, fertile farmlands known as the “breadbasket of the world.” Russia and Ukraine combine for nearly a third of the world’s wheat and barley exports and provide large amounts of corn and cooking oils. The war has sent wheat prices up 55% since a week before the invasion and could reduce food supplies just when prices are at their highest since 2011. That could create food insecurity and throw more people into poverty in places like Egypt and Lebanon, where diets are dominated by government-subsidized bread.