Due to Russia's war in Ukraine, more than 275 million people around the world faced an acute lack of food. This was stated by the U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, reports Reuters.
Yellen said she will call leaders of other countries during spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank next week to discuss possible solutions to help the poorest people who spend most of their income on food.
"International development banks provided financing to strengthen domestic food production, strengthen social security networks and unlock trade financing, but they also needed to make long-term investments to eliminate major vulnerabilities in food systems," said Yellen.
According to her, Russia's invasion of Ukraine sharply increased raw materials prices, increasing global inflationary pressure and posing a threat to energy and food security, trade flows, and external balance in many countries.
Earlier, according to the WTO, the war in Ukraine not only created a humanitarian crisis of huge proportions but also challenged the world economy. Ukraine and Russia are important suppliers of basic goods, including food and utilities. In 2019, the two countries provided about 25% of the world's wheat, 15% of barley, and 45% of sunflower.