Poor countries to be hit hardest as Ukraine war threatens global food crisis

Ukraine and Russia are among the biggest exporters of farm-grown foodstuffs and fertilisers, notably of wheat, maize, rapeseed, sunflower seeds and sunflower oil. © Reuters/Valentyn Ogirenko

The war in Ukraine has sent commodity prices soaring, creating shock waves across poorer countries already hard hit by the pandemic. The UN has warned "profound social anxiety" was spreading – especially in North Africa and the Middle East.

In a new report, entiteld "Tapering a Time of Conflict", the UN's trade, investment and development agency, UNCTAD, warned that the conflict raging in Ukraine was causing a global economic slowdown that was hitting developing countries the hardest.