Amid record-high inflation and gas prices, Americans may soon have another economic crisis to worry…
Amid record-high inflation and gas prices, Americans may soon have another economic crisis to worry about at the dinner table: a wheat shortage.
President Joe Biden and his administration have already blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin and his invasion of Ukraine for soaring gas prices and general economic mayhem. Now, with Russia and Ukraine responsible for exporting more than one-quarter of the world’s wheat supplies, shoppers in the U.S. may start to feel the pain of the war at the grocery store, too.
In 2019, Ukraine and Russia combined to supply about 25.4% of the world’s wheat, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity. Russia is the world’s largest wheat exporter; Ukraine ranks fifth. While that’s a staple crop for both countries, it isn’t the only one of importance — in total, the International Grains Council estimates that the two countries account for about one-quarter of the entire world’s grain trade.
