War in Ukraine could lead to food riots in poor countries, warns WTO boss

theguardian.com:

Rocketing global food prices as a result of the war in Ukraine could trigger riots from those going hungry in poor countries, the head of the World Trade Organization has said.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala warned food-producing countries against hoarding supplies and said it was vital to avoid a repeat of the Covid pandemic, when rich countries were able to secure for themselves the bulk of vaccines.

In an interview with the Guardian, the WTO director general expressed concern about the knock-on effects of Russia’s invasion – stressing the dependence of many African countries on food supplies from the Black Sea region.

“I think we should be very worried. The impact on food prices and hunger this year and next could be substantial. Food and energy are the two biggest items in the consumption baskets of poor people all over the world,” Okonjo-Iweala said.

“It is poor countries and poor people within poor countries that will suffer the most.”

Okonjo-Iweala, a former Nigerian finance minister, said 35 African countries were dependent on food imported from the Black Sea region, adding that Russia and Ukraine were responsible for 24% of global supplies of wheat.

Agriculture has always been a vexed issue at the WTO, with continual rows about governments subsidising their own farmers while restricting access to their markets. “Discussions are pretty heated. They are always heated because these are huge issues,” she said.

Okonjo-Iweala has just completed her first year as head of the WTO, having been appointed to provide some political impetus to an institution beset by disputes over how to liberalise trade and the mechanism for settling disputes.

The WTO director general said progress was being made but admitted: “Since I got here things have