- Prostitutes, prospectors drive spread in DR Congo mpox capital
- Oil extends rally after Iran attack, Hong Kong resumes surge
- Extreme heat another form of death sentence in Texas jails
- Can music help plants grow? Study suggests sound boosts fungus
- Nike earnings drop, says turnaround will take time
- US dockworkers launch mass strike a month before election
- Iron Dome: Israel's key anti-missile shield
- Cranes stand still as US dockworkers fight for 'future'
- GM reports US sales dip, but says EVs grew
- Sheinbaum takes office as Mexico's first woman president
- Webb telescope detects carbon dioxide on Pluto's largest moon
- Stock markets slump, oil jumps on Middle East concerns
- French PM vows more taxes and spending cuts ahead of budget fight
- Germany inaugurates IBM's first European quantum data centre
- Stock markets diverge as eurozone inflation drops further
- France's richest man takes control of Paris Match magazine
- Anger meets tear gas as Nigeria hardship protests fizzle out
- US dockworkers launch mass strike month before election
- Evacuations from Lebanon: what we know
- Feathers fly at Chanel's Paris fashion return
- UAE oil giant ADNOC swoops on German chemicals firm Covestro
- Eurozone inflation falls under 2% for first time since 2021
- Coldplay ticket scalping fiasco sparks backlash in India
- Droughts drive Spanish boom in pistachio farming
- Tokyo recovers some losses to lead Asian markets higher
- Rural schools empty in North Macedonia due to exodus
- US dockworkers launch strike after labor contract expires
- Thousands evacuated as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan
- Kenya airport whistleblower fears for his life
- Sheinbaum to take office as Mexico's first woman president
- Scientists fear underfunded Argentina research on verge of collapse
- US port officials gird for strike despite last-minute bargaining
- With 118 dead from Hurricane Helene, Biden defends US government response
- Breeder who tried to create enormous trophy sheep jailed in US
- Qatar Airways seeking 25% stake in Virgin Australia
- US port officials gird for strike as labor talks stay stuck
- As toll crosses 100, Trump puts Hurricane Helene at election center stage
- US Fed Chair sees 'further disinflation' in economy
- Epic Games sues Google and Samsung over app store
- Officials see no shortages from likely US port strike
- UK families of Gaza hostages warn Lebanon attack 'takes focus away'
- Shares in Stellantis, Aston Martin skid on profit warnings
- Dali prints found in London garage sold at auction
- ECB chief backs bank mergers amid UniCredit, Commerzbank talk
- China stocks soar on stimulus, but US and Europe retreat
- 100 dead in storm Helene damage, flooding across US southeast
- China stocks soar on stimulus, Europe slides on automaker woes
- German antitrust watchdog steps up monitoring of Microsoft
- Nepal's urban poor count cost of 'nightmare' floods
- E.Guinea, Gabon clash at ICJ over oil-rich islands
Why record wheat prices are a global worry
Consumed daily by billions of people around the world in bread and other flour-based products, wheat is a basic food staple, making current record prices for the cereal a global concern.
Low rainfall or droughts in major producing countries were already causing worries before Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February sent markets soaring.
Since then, wheat-exporting powerhouse Ukraine has struggled to sell and sow its crops, putting consumers in poor countries at risk of poverty and even famine
Sebastien Abis, head of the Demeter agricultural think tank in Paris and an expert at the Institute for International and Strategic Relations, explains what's at stake:
- Is it possible to replace wheat with something else? -
"It's very difficult. Wheat is the most important cereal for global food security: it is eaten by billions of humans in the form of bread, flour or semolina.
"Corn is grown in larger quantities but is mostly used for animal feed or for industrial purposes.
"Beyond its nutritional qualities, wheat is a very social and democratic product, enabling people to make low-cost food -- and it is often subsidised."
"Yes, because of shortages and because you can't produce it just anywhere. You can grow it in temperate climates, but there are only a dozen countries that produce a lot and can export it, particularly Russia, Ukraine, the United States, Australia.
"In recent years, the United States has produced less and less because they are switching to corn and soya . After the Soviet period, the two countries that surged ahead were Ukraine and Russia.
"Ukraine accounted for 12-13 percent of global exports in recent years."
"We have at the same time a dreadful geopolitical situation, with multilateralism faltering, to which we must add worrying climatic events, with droughts in the southern Mediterranean basin, worries in the United States and in Europe.
"India, which had an exceptional harvest last year and reserves that enabled it to sell more on the markets, has been hit with a terrible drought and will not be able to export.
"Prices that were already high before the war are now exploding: wheat reached 440 euros ($463) a tonne on the Euronext market on Monday."
"India had announced a rather ambitious target of exporting 10 million tonnes. It had sold around 3-3.5 million tonnes before it put its export ban in place, so one of the questions is whether it will honour its commitments.
"The situation is tense because there's no country that can put more than usual into the export market. Perhaps Russia will if it has a good harvest.
"But even if the war stopped, Ukraine's production and exports will not bounce back immediately."
"We have real long-term risks. We still haven't seen all the shocks, because on global markets for the last two months we've been seeing fulfilments of contracts signed before the Russian invasion. We're now entering the hard part."
"For wheat, we have around 270 million tonnes for a planet that consumes around 800 million a year. Around half are in China which has one year's consumption in reserve. Excluding China, cereal stocks are at their lowest level in 25 years.
"We need international solidarity and cooperation. We can't leave countries to struggle on their own for food security but at the same time you can't be surprised that some countries are looking out for themselves first and foremost.
"We need to produce everywhere where we can produce, notably in Africa. But for that we need peace and security".
P.Petrenko--CPN