ukraine produces enough grain every year to feed 400 million people. along with russia, it exports one third of the world s entire wheat harvest. or, at least, it should. but russia s blockade of ukrainian ports means millions of tonnes of grain are going nowhere, prompting the head of the un s world food programme to call it a declaration of war on global food security that could push tens of millions of people into severe food shortages. our economics editor faisal islam reports. across the world, food and energy crises are hitting households, increasing social instability and hunger, and leading to whole countries going bust. sri lanka at first, but more are feared to be heading in the same direction. from southeast asia to the middle east, and it s also affecting the uk, too. with russia s war in ukraine making these supply shocks much worse, the economic stakes are very high here, and across the world, according to one of britain s top bankers. many of the conversation
welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. ukraine produces enough grain every year to feed 400 million people. along with russia, it exports one third of the world s entire wheat harvest. or at least it should. but russia s blockade of ukrainian ports means millions of tonnes of grain are going nowhere, prompting the head of the un s world food programme to call it a declaration of war on global food security , that could push tens of millions of people into severe food shortages. our economics editor faisal islam reports. across the world, food and energy crises are hitting households, increasing social instability and hunger, and leading to whole countries going bust. sri lanka at first, but more are feared to be heading in the same direction. from southeast asia to the middle east, and it s also affecting the uk, too. with russia s war in ukraine making these supply shocks much worse, the economic stakes are very high here, and across the world, accor
and it s just been one roller coaster after another, to be honest. estimates suggest a 10% reduction in the amount of land being used to grow potatoes this year. that s a knock on effect of last year s drought. and despite a wet spring this year, the ground is now dry and the growing potatoes are thirsty. extreme weather is bad news for the growers, coupled with the high energy costs. we have had a bigjump in our electricity costs, actually nine times higher in october than it had been in our fixed price contracts from the months before. and also, energy affects fertiliser costs for us as well, and to a lesser extent, transport. over the past decade, its estimated land used for growing potatoes has decreased by around 30%. they are really hard to grow. it s either too wet, - it s too cold, it s too dry. you need the right sort of land.
fork, and it is a sector that has faced many challenges. volatility, uncertainty and instability. three major threats facing the farming industry, according to the national farmers union. in recent months, farmers have been telling the bbc about the impact they ve felt. we re battered after the last couple of years, not just financially. it s been a huge mental stress. we will look at ways to either get out of farming or reduce the risk even more. energy costs. fertiliser costs. seed costs. packaging costs. shortage of labour. today at 10 downing street, what s been called the farm to fork summit will take place. supermarket bosses, government departments, and representatives from the farming industry will meet to try and tackle a range of issues, including the rising cost of food and a shortage of agricultural workers. at the end of the day, we want to see fairness
discuss the future of food production in the uk. we had a billion less production in the uk. we had a billion less eggs production in the uk. we had a billion less eggs than - production in the uk. we had a billion less eggs than we - production in the uk. we had a billion less eggs than we had i production in the uk. we had a| billion less eggs than we had in 2019. we have had salad rationing and there is so much more that we can do here. so the whole idea of today, which is what the prime minister committed to in august, is to find a solution to a lot of the challenges which hopefully will help with the cost of living. at challenges which hopefully will help with the cost of living. with the cost of living. at first, a branch in the with the cost of living. at first, a branch in the downing with the cost of living. at first, a branch in the downing street - with the cost of living. at first, a - branch in the downing street garden, with the best of british food and the prime