Hunger in the MENA region could be easily avoided

The longer the war in Ukraine continues, the more its adverse effects will be felt not only in Europe, but also in the Middle East and North Africa, especially in the region’s already fragile countries, such as Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. The Ukraine crisis threatens to endanger these states’ food security.

The undisputed fact is that there is no country immune to being affected by significant events, revolutions and wars, no matter where they occur.

Human Rights Watch reported in March that “on March 9, 2022, Ukraine banned exports of grain and other food products to prevent a domestic humanitarian crisis. Even if these supply chain disruptions are resolved soon, the problems would most likely persist because farmers are fleeing the fighting, and the conflict is destroying infrastructure and equipment. The war could also gravely diminish the coming harvest, particularly if it continues into the start of the planting season in April.”

In addition to all the financial troubles Lebanon has suffered, this crisis has added insult to injury. Beirut continues its official warnings of an upcoming severe shortage of wheat. The country imports 600,000 tons of wheat every year, an average of 50,000 tons per month, with 60 percent of these imports coming from Ukraine and about 20 percent from Russia and Romania.

Lebanon cannot store vast quantities of wheat within its territory. The port of Beirut used to house enormous silos, but the August 2020 explosion destroyed these along with its stock.

Several countries could substitute Ukrainian wheat, including the US, Canada, Australia, Romania and Bulgaria, but that would not come cheap. “The prices of food commodities will rise in Lebanon, meaning that citizens will incur additional burdens on them amid a significant decrease in their purchasing power with the collapse of the Lebanese lira,” Hani Bohsali, head of the Syndicate of Food Importers in Lebanon, told a news agency.

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