Why Russia-Ukraine tensions have the Middle East on edge

Why Russia-Ukraine tensions have the Middle East on edge

Ukraine and Russia account for 23% of the world’s wheat exports, according to S&P Global. Global food prices are already near 10-year highs and the two countries’ market share means that any disruption in exports

, but Middle Eastern states too have come to rely heavily on its exports — to a level that some warn has become dangerously high.

The Middle East was Ukraine’s third largest wheat buyer in the 2020/2021 market year, according to the US Department of Agriculture. More than 40% of the country’s recent wheat exports went to the Middle East or Africa alone.

The International Monetary Fund projected that energy costs and commodities prices in many countries would rise should a conflict occur. The effect on the Middle East, however, could be far worse than other countries, said Julien Barnes-Dacey, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at the European Council of Foreign Affairs.

“Fears of conflict hanging over two of the world’s major suppliers are clearly going to have some impact on prices, when there is already a sense of shortage,” he said.

Lebanon, Libya, and Egypt are among Ukraine’s biggest buyers in the region, with countries like Yemen and Syria depending on the World Food Programme’s