OREANDA-NEWS. Filippo Schiavone, a spokesman for the leadership of the Italian association of agricultural producers Confagricoltura, said that world prices for grain crops remain at their highest levels in 10 years, RIA Novosti reports.

He stressed that at the beginning of the year, wheat prices slightly decreased after a peak in September-October, and then, in connection with the start of a special operation in Ukraine, there was a new jump and now agricultural markets are in a tense state. Schiavone noted that the increase in prices for wheat and corn is associated with the volume of grain exports from Russia and Ukraine, which account for more than a third of the world's grain exports.

According to him, the markets will continue to experience pressure, but it can be compensated for by supplies, for example, from Canada and the United States. However, keep in mind that last year Canada exported 50% less grain due to drought.

According to the representative of Confagricoltura, the production of durum wheat in Italy, as well as fruits and vegetables, will decrease by the end of this year - this will be affected by an increase in production costs for fertilizers and fuel prices due to the situation in Ukraine.