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The invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the subsequent blockage of its Black Sea ports has disrupted the flow of grain from one of the world's leading producers. This has led to a surge in food commodity prices and fears of a global food shortage. However, a deal brokered by the United Nations between Ukraine, Russia, and Turkey has allowed the resumption of Ukrainian grain exports via the Black Sea route. Even after the end of the grain deal, Ukraine and its partners found alternative ways to keep the grain flowing, including exporting via an alternative Black Sea route close to the border of friendly states Bulgaria and Romania. Data from the UN Comtrade database shows that much of Ukraine’s grain exports ended up in Europe last year, with Romania, Poland, and Hungary seeing particularly large increases in inflows of grain from Ukraine. Meanwhile, countries like Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan, Morocco, and Tunisia had to find alternative suppliers of the vital food commodity due to the war.
