Ukraine War’s Impact on Wheat Threatens Hunger in Sudan, Says Aid Group

Ukraine War’s Impact on Wheat Threatens Hunger in Sudan, Says Aid Group

More than 80 percent of Sudan's wheat imports are at risk after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, an aid group warns, exacerbating economic and humanitarian crises that deepened after last year's military takeover.

Fighting and sanctions have disrupted grain shipments from Russia and Ukraine, which between them account for nearly 30 percent of global wheat exports, threatening hunger and social upheaval in many countries.

The impact will be especially severe in Sudan, one of the world's poorest countries, where a military coup in October led by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan brought fresh turmoil and saw Western donor countries cut aid.

"Sudan is in a particularly vulnerable position because 86-87 percent of its wheat imports is coming from Russia and Ukraine combined," said David Wright, chief operating officer at charity Save the Children.

By the end of the year, he said in a Khartoum interview with AFP, UN data is warning of "almost 20 million people, or almost half the country, being food insecure".

The northeast African country was already reeling from international aid cuts and economic turmoil which saw the local currency plummet and prices of food, fuel and electricity skyrocket.

Sudan -- a country where a rise in bread prices sparked the turmoil and mass