War risks forcing 11m-19m more to go hungry over next year: FAO

Reduced exports of wheat and other food commodities from Ukraine and Russia risk leaving between 11 million and 19 million more people with chronic hunger over the next year, the United Nations' food agency said on Friday, reports Reuters.

The conflict in Ukraine has fuelled a global food crisis, with surging prices for grains, cooking oils, fuel and fertiliser. Russia and Ukraine account for nearly a third of global wheat supplies, while Russia is also a key fertiliser exporter and Ukraine a major supplier of corn and sunflower oil.

Boubaker BenBelhassen, director of the Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) Markets and Trade Division, said the impact of the conflict "could lead to anywhere between 11 to 19 million more hungry people - that's chronic hunger for 2022/23".

This preliminary estimation was based on reduced exports of food commodities from Ukraine and Russia, he told reporters.