President Joe Biden says the United States and Canada may have to up their food production in order to offset shortages in Europe caused by the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
Each of the two warring nations are among the top producers of agricultural commodities in the world—each specializing in products like wheat, maize, rapeseed, sunflower seeds, and sunflower oil. The two supply nearly 30 percent of wheat and nearly 20 percent of corn in the global market. Both are also top exporters of fertilizers.
As the West imposes sanctions meant to isolate the Russian economy and the military conflict stifles movement out of shipping ports in the Black Sea, prices for cereals like wheat are rising and the U.N. is warning of the potential for food insecurity in some countries.
“It’s going to be real,” said Biden at a press conference following an emergency NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium on Thursday. “The price of the sanctions is not just imposed upon Russia, it’s imposed upon an awful lot of countries as well, including European countries in our country as well.”
Biden told reporters there were discussions among G7 leaders at the summit on how the wheat production powerhouses of the United States and Canada might “increase and disseminate more rapidly” to offset any reduction in food from Russia and Ukraine. Biden also mentioned that this may require ending trade restrictions imposing limits on growing and exporting food.
“So, we are in the process of working out with our European friends what it would be—what it would take to help alleviate the concerns relative to food shortages,” he said.
Russia is the world’s largest exporter of wheat followed by the United States and Canada, according to worldstopexports.com. The commodity is up more than 26 percent on the month and was trading at more than $10.70 a bushel Thursday.
Russia invaded Ukraine one month ago on Feb. 24.
The White House earlier in the week warned of potential food shortages in countries around the world stemming from the conflict in Ukraine. Press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Monday that while the United States is not expecting a domestic shortage, higher food prices could have an impact on countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.
“We are working with our partners in the G7, multilateral development banks, the World Food Programme, and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization to mitigate the impacts to poorer nations,” said Psaki.
