Ukrainian farmers have 20 million tonnes of grain they cannot get to international markets, and a new harvest is about to begin. What can be done to get the food to people who desperately need it, as prices soar around the world?
Ukraine punches far above its weight as a food exporter, contributing 42% of the sunflower oil traded on the global market, 16% of the maize and 9% of the wheat. Some countries depend heavily on it. Lebanon imports 80% of its wheat from Ukraine and India 76% of its sunflower oil. The UN's World Food Programme (WFP), which feeds people on the brink of starvation in countries such as Ethiopia, Yemen and Afghanistan, sources 40% of its wheat from the country.