That risked alienating Russia allies in Africa, Latin America and Asia. Back then, the cost of wheat had surged to a record of $13.40 a bushel, nearly three times above the 2000-2020 average of $4.95. In mid-2022, the Russian President desperately needed to keep the Global South onboard, so diverting the blame for rising global food prices was essential. When Putin agreed last year to a deal re-starting Ukrainian grain and oilseeds shipments via the Black Sea, the Kremlin’s calculation was that it had much to lose from blocking the agreement, but something to win at only a small cost. ![]() Short of NATO nations providing escorts for Ukrainian grain shipments and risking direct confrontation with Moscow, Russia has the upper hand. Four decades and another Russian invasion later, it’s Vladimir Putin who’s dragging wheat into war, imposing an embargo on Ukrainian grain exports that could cost the nation as much as $800 million a month in badly needed hard currency. The US weaponised the cereal against the Soviet Union in 1980, when President Jimmy Carter imposed a wheat embargo on its Cold War rival in response to the invasion of Afghanistan. ![]() Luckily for the world, this time around it’s mostly proving to be a dud. Wheat is the world’s most important staple - and so, perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s also been wielded as a powerful weapon.
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