Ukrainian farmers have harvested over 66 million tonnes of grain in 2018, which exceeds the record figure of 2016, according to the press service of the Ukraine Agrarian Policy Ministry.

Ukraine’s grain harvest in 2018 hit a record 70 million tonnes, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said at a business forum on Dec. 11. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, in its April 9 World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report, raised from March its forecast carryover of wheat and corn but slightly lowered its soybean forecast.

Threats and Opportunities for African Agriculture and other Commodities following Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

The war in Ukraine is threatening further disruption to already stretched supply chains.

The economic shock set off by the Russian invasion of Ukraine will be among the most severe in at least 50 years.

The year started with a mixed outlook of agricultural fortunes in Sub-Saharan Africa. Much of the Southern Africa region had received favourable rains, albeit not at the same period, which is good for agricultural production.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has disrupted the supply of almost half of the world’s sunflower oil exports, forcing companies to turn to less desirable alternatives such as palm oil in products ranging from potato chips to cookies. 

Cutting Ukraine off from its most fertile land and main export hub will have long-term repercussions on global food exports, analysts say.

At the United Nations Security Council’s May 19 session on conflict and global food security, Gro Intelligence’s CEO, Sara Menker, spoke about the growing global food crisis, the confluence of unprecedented factors contributing to this crisis, and its disproportionate impact on lower-income countries.

By invading ukraine, Vladimir Putin will destroy the lives of people far from the battlefield—and on a scale even he may regret.

There are growing signs that the South Africa economy could soon experience stagflation. Stagflation is a situation in which an economy suffers from both low growth and high inflation. It is a difficult place to be in, and from which to exit.

Ukraine could face new challenges in its upcoming winter sowing campaign as high stocks, a shortage of storage together with tight and expensive logistics mean current domestic prices are already close to the cost of production before the harvest has even reached its active pace.

European governments have been alarmed by a Russian disinformation campaign that seeks to deflect criticism that President Vladimir Putin’s war with Ukraine risks leaving millions of people in Africa facing famine.

The energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine disabused many politicians of the notion that the world could make a swift transition to green energy powered by solar, wind and wishful thinking.

The first grain-carrying ship to set sail from Ukraine since the Russian invasion is stranded off the coast of Turkey after the initial buyer of the cargo refused delivery, according to the UN body supervising the reopening of the Black Sea route.

The second week of September was a wild week. The grains started the week off mixed, with wheat starting the week lower while corn and soybeans surged higher.

Beneficial rainfall as the calendar flipped to a new year improved a still-dire moisture situation in some areas where winter wheat is grown.