On July 17, Russia declared a halt to a ground-breaking wartime agreement that permitted grain to travel from Ukraine to regions in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia where hunger is a growing danger and high food costs have driven more people into poverty. As a result of Russia’s invasion of its neighbor, which created a worldwide food crisis, the U.N. and Turkey reached an agreement last summer to permit food exports from the Black Sea region. This agreement has now come to an end with the suspension. The program is credited with helping in the decrease of wheat, vegetable oil, and other global food commodity prices that were surging. By the situation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that his country hopes to continue the Black Sea grain deal after Russia’s withdrawal.

Prices hike due to Russia and Ukraine grain deal:

1. Wheat prices spiked after Russia said it was pulling out from a wartime agreement to allow grain exports from Ukraine, one of the world’s biggest producers, through the Black Sea.
2. The low-grade wheat was sold at Tk 1,570 to Tk 1,600 a maund (1 Maund=37 KGs), up by Tk 20-30 a maund than the rates a day ago at Khatunganj, one of the largest commodity wholesale markets in Bangladesh’s Chattogram. The same price hike was seen in case of the prices of upper-grade wheat, which was sold at Tk 1,980 a maund, according to the traders.
3. On 20th July, Chicago wheat futures rose 1.6% to hit a three-week high, buoyed by growing expectations that an attack on Ukrainian ports after Russia’s withdrawal from a Black Sea export deal will have longer-term impact on global supplies.
4. After rising by almost 11% over the previous three sessions as a result of Russia and Ukraine issuing warnings that ships en route to each other’s ports could be viewed as military targets, the market is now taking a break. The tensions raised worries that shipments from the area, which is regarded as the world’s breadbasket, would be halted observed on July 21st.
5. Wheat prices on the European stock exchange increased by almost 9% in a single day to $284 per tonne. The 8.5% increase in US wheat futures was also the greatest daily increase since the start of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine in February of the previous year. Over the following three to four months, experts forecast an additional 15% increase in wheat prices.