Biden to visit Illinois farm to highlight Russia-driven spike in food prices – The Peninsula

Biden to visit Illinois farm to highlight Russia-driven spike in food prices – The Peninsula

U.S. President Joe Biden will seek to highlight how Russia's war on Ukraine has affected global food prices during a visit to a family farm in Illinois on Wednesday.

The visit comes as the White House is struggling to rein in inflation on many fronts, from gasoline to food. U.S. gas prices hit record highs on Tuesday, and Russia's invasion of Ukraine in late February dramatically worsened the outlook for food prices.

New data on Wednesday showed U.S. consumer prices rose at a slower, but still significantly elevated, pace. The Labor Department said prices across the economy rose 8.3% over the twelve months through April. Food prices alone gained 9.4% over that period.

The U.N. food agency recently said food prices hit an all-time record in February and again in March. Russia and Ukraine account for nearly a third of global wheat and barley, and two-thirds of the world's exports of sunflower oil used for cooking.

"He's going to talk about the support we need to continue to give to farmers to help continue to produce more and more domestically to help address the food shortages that we’re seeing in some parts of the world," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Tuesday.

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