Millions risk undernourishment as wheat prices surge, FAO and OECD warn

FILE PHOTO: A turret of a destroyed armoured fighting vehicle is seen in a wheat field, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, outside the town of Ichnia, in Chernihiv region, Ukraine June 7, 2022. REUTERS/Vladyslav Musiienko/File Photo

The war in Ukraine that has stalled its wheat exports will keep global prices high into the 2022/23 season, putting millions more people at risk of undernourishment, the United Nations' food agency and the OECD said on Wednesday.

Russia and Ukraine are the world's first and fifth largest wheat exporters accounting for 20% and 10% of global sales, respectively, but Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the closure of the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, nearly halted exports.