OREANDA-NEWS. Anti-Russian sanctions could cause food shortages around the world, said The Daily Telegraph columnist, economist Liam Halligan. According to him, the sanctions primarily affected global supply chains, which could lead to shortages.

“Previously, about a third of the world's grain supplies were transported through the Black Sea ports, but now this export has practically ceased,” the expert explained.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, global food prices jumped nearly 13% in March. The sanctions have also pushed up the cost of fertilizer, Halligan added.

Earlier, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the UN World Food Program and the World Trade Organization (WTO) called for urgent measures to ensure food security in the world amid the events in Ukraine.

“Rising food prices are exacerbated by the sharp increase in the cost of natural gas, a key component of nitrogen fertilizers. The rise in fertilizer prices, along with a significant reduction in global supplies, has important implications for food production in most countries, including major producers and exporters,” the statement said.

International organizations note that rising prices for basic foodstuffs and interruptions in the supply of goods "may increase social tension in many affected", and therefore the world community must "urgently support vulnerable countries through coordinated measures, starting with the release of emergency food stocks, financial support, increase agricultural production and open trade”.

The World Bank estimates in the statement that for every percentage point of food price increases, 10 million people around the world are "falling into extreme poverty."