Daily Times

The price of wheat has climbed to its highest levels in more than a decade, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine is causing wheat prices to spike, exacerbating already high food prices.

Wheat futures settled up 5.35pc at 984 cents per bushel. That marks the highest price since April 4, 2008, when wheat traded as high as 985.5 cents per bushel. The grain traded “limit up” during the day, meaning to the highest amount the price of a commodity is allowed to increase in a single day. Russia is the largest exporter of wheat and Ukraine is among the four biggest exporters of the commodity, according to JPMorgan. Of the 207-million-ton international wheat trade, 17pc comes from Russia and 12pc comes from Ukraine, according to Bank of America.

“Wheat and corn are the most exposed agricultural markets to any potential escalation in tensions,” JPMorgan’s Marko Kolanovic said in a note. Corn futures also settled 5.07pc higher at 725.75 cents per bushel, their highest level since May. Trading of corn futures was also halted.

With wheat prices already on the rise, the conflict abroad is placing even more pressure on a still ailing supply chain. Russia’s actions also have caused a major disruption to Ukrainian ports, hobbling the export market. The disruptions are tightening global wheat supplies, even as demand stays the same or spikes. And with less supply, prices are rising even more than they have during the pandemic.

Global food prices rose as much as 28pc in 2021, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Supply chain disruptions and extreme weather contributed to the higher prices.