Grain deficit looming for EU – diplomat

Greece’s First Deputy Foreign Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis said on Tuesday that the country and the EU as a whole should brace for a grain deficit as the result of the conflict in Ukraine and anti-Russia sanctions.

The shortage could mean, “Firstly, a significant increase in prices and, secondly, it could mean that we will see unrest in the wider region and especially in North Africa and the Middle East,” he said at a meeting in Brussels.

Russia’s military operation in Ukraine has affected grain supplies from the two countries, which are major global exporters. The crisis has sent wheat prices soaring in recent weeks to the highest point since 2008. Global food prices have also hit historic highs amid supply concerns.

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