The Ukraine war and the Middle East: The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. (Moshe Dayan Center)

Moshe Dayan Center published an article that examines several economic issues occurring simultaneously in the Middle East and North Africa region mainly as a result of the Ukraine-Russia war. Over the last 25 years, the Black Sea region has been transformed from a net food importer to a major supplier of grains and oilseeds. In recent years, Russia and Ukraine exported 34 percent of globally traded wheat, 17 percent of maize, and 73 percent of sunflower oil. They account for about 27 and 17 percent of the global barley and maize trade, respectively. These exports represent a substantial share of global consumption, accounting for about 12 percent of the total calories traded internationally. Russia is also a major exporter of nitrogen and potash fertilizers, accounting for about 15 percent of global trade in nitrogenous fertilizers while Russia and Belarus account for 33 percent of global potash fertilizer exports. Russia is also a major producer and exporter of oil and gas, which are major inputs for the transportation, production, and processing of food and fertilizers. The impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on global food markets, both directly and indirectly through fertilizer and energy, has been unparalleled over the last half of century (See Joseph Glauber and David Laborde‘s blog post, How will Russia’s invasion of Ukraine affect global food security?)