News of a Russian attack on Europe's largest nuclear power plant (NPP), the one in Energodar, Ukraine, intensified market fear and resulted in a new increase in wheat prices, Bloomberg reported. On Friday, wheat futures in Chicago exceeded USD 12 per bushel.
Russia and Ukraine are the source of nearly 29% of world wheat exports. As expected, the war has led to a rise in the price of wheat, reaching levels last seen in 2008, and serious fears of a global shortage.
Apart from food, wheat is used as a raw material in the production of ethanol, various alcoholic products and other derivatives in the food industry.
According to Bloomberg, changes in wheat prices this year will depend largely on the harvest in North America and Europe. Fertilizer shortages will be an important factor. The Russian invasion could ruin the harvest in Ukraine, especially if farmers are needed on the battlefields.
