Russia-Ukraine crisis will disrupt global agricultural markets, says expert
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will continue to have global impacts related to grain exports and production, oilseeds, fertilizer, and petroleum, says a Virginia Tech agricultural trade expert.
Jason Grant, a professor and director for the Center for Agricultural Trade at Virginia Tech, says that Russia and Ukraine account for 13-15% of global wheat production and 28% of global wheat exports.
“Some of Ukraine’s most productive wheat acres are on the Eastern side of the country where tensions with Russia first escalated,” says Grant. “Ukraine is also a major corn exporter to China, eclipsing the U.S. in recent years.”
“China has invested heavily in Ukrainian corn production as a way to diversify its suppliers and reduce its reliance on U.S. corn exports,” according to Grant. “Ukraine and Russia also account for three-quarters of global sunflower oil exports to the world market.”
“Most commodity prices are determined globally and the Russia-Ukraine conflict will only exacerbate inflationary pressure on already surging food and energy prices,” says Grant.
About Grant
Grant is a professor of agricultural and applied economics in the Virginia Tech Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics. His research expertise is in the area of agricultural trade, specifically with regards to bilateral and regional free trade agreements, trade disputes, as well as tariffs and non-tariff measures. Grant has performed economic analysis for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, including an analysis that quantified the benefits and drawbacks to the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership in 2016, trade impact assessment of the 2018-19 U.S.-China trade dispute, and the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on the resilience of global food and agricultural trade. Grant directs the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ Center for Agricultural Trade, which promotes agricultural trade through research, education, and outreach.
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