The World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned this Friday about the “economic impacts” of the war in Ukraine, a major exporter of wheat, which will harm consumers around the world.
“There is going to be a big shock regarding wheat prices and bread prices for ordinary people as well,” WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said in a virtual event with IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgiev.
Okonjo-Iweala recalled that Ukraine “is one of the largest wheat exporters in the world”reported the AFP news agency.
For her part, Georgieva recalled her previous warnings about the “significant economic risk” of the conflict amid the global recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, saying “the impact will go beyond Ukraine.”
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The head of the IMF highlighted the additional pressure on inflation, which is likely to accelerate amid rising energy and wheat prices.
The United States and Europe imposed sanctions on Russia that affect the financial sector but largely spared the oil and agriculture sectors, fearing that they will end up affecting them as well.
The sanctions “add to the economic impact of this crisis and will primarily affect energy and grain prices, adding to growing concerns about inflation and how it can be countered,” Georgieva said.
In addition, Ukraine conflict adds “a lot of uncertainty” to the global economy which is reflected in the financial markets and undermines confidence in emerging countries causing an exodus of capital at a time when they need more financing, he added.
