Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sent food and energy prices skyrocketing, and in the Middle East, prices are at an all time high. The price of bread has skyrocketed in the Arab world, as global wheat prices have risen because of the invasion of Ukraine, as both Ukraine and Russia are some of the world’s biggest wheat producers. The Middle East relies mainly on Ukraine and Russia for wheat, and with the invasion comes detrimental shortages to wheat which has also risen the price, making putting food on the table more and more difficult during this time.
The wheat shortages have hard impacts in Africa and the Middle East as they solely depend on Russia and Ukraine for wheat. Food shortages have become more common, and will only continue to become more common for the foreseeable future. Russia is also a major producer of sunflower seed oil, which is used for cooking in the Middle East and North Africa. The sunflower seed oil is also scarce, which means cooking oils have risen in price and are harder to come by. These shortages have hurt those in the Middle East, and those who are poverty stricken ar left wondering where there next meal is going to come from.
This article relates to the collective goods problem. The wheat benefits the Middle East, and their oil production helps benefit Ukraine and somewhat Russia. Now that Ukraine is under attack, the benefit of wheat from Russia and Ukraine has been heavily impacted because of rising prices and scarcity, and oil and gas prices have risen globally. The effects have been felt globally, but hunger and food shortages are among the biggest struggle currently in the Middle East.