Ukraine’s fertile black soil and large-scale mechanized agriculture have made it a cornerstone of global food security.
Before Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukraine exported food to over 125 countries, supplying 9% of global wheat exports, 12% of corn exports, and 46% of sunflower oil.
For example, in 2020/21 Ukraine produced 5.9 million tonnes of sunflower oil (around 31 % of world output) and exported roughly 90 % of it to partners including India, China, Egypt, and Türkiye.
Crucially, many of these exports went to food-insecure countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Sub-Saharan Africa - regions highly dependent on imports due to water scarcity, conflicts, or underdeveloped agricultural sectors.
For example, in 2021 roughly half of Ukraine’s wheat exports went to MENA, and nearly one-third to South/Southeast Asia.
However, wartime disruptions forced a shift: by 2023 Europe was the destination for over half of Ukraine’s wheat (up from 2 % pre-war).
War-time figures are lower, because Ukraine’s traditional export routes - Black Sea ports like Odesa, Chornomorsk and Pivdennyi - were largely blocked by the Russian invasion until July 2022.
Land (rail/truck) and river routes were quickly expanded under EU coordination. In May 2022 the EU launched “Solidarity Lanes” - a network of alternative corridors by rail, road and Danube waterways linking Ukraine to EU ports.
These lanes carried much of Ukraine’s exports when the Black Sea was closed, because of the Russian constant shelling of the Black Sea infrastructure.
For example, by March 2025 roughly 45% of Ukraine’s agricultural exports flowed via Solidarity Lanes and Ukraine remained the world’s top sunflower oil shipper into 2025.
Russia’s invasion and its blockade of Ukrainian Black Sea ports in 2022 weaponized food supplies, causing one of the sharpest spikes in global commodity prices in decades.
Within days of war onset (February 2022), world prices for wheat futures jumped around 60% and corn around 15%.
For example, prior to the war over 50% of wheat imports in fifteen African countries came from Ukraine (exceeding 70% in Egypt, Eritrea, Sudan, Tanzania, Benin, Djibouti).
While global prices have since stabilized somewhat, volatility remains due to Russia's war, fluctuating access to export corridors, and attacks on critical infrastructure.
Key disruptions include:
-Blockade of Odesa and Mykolaiv Ports.
-Attacks on port facilities. In mid-2025, Ukraine’s export infrastructure is more robust but still imperfect. Sea shipments have resumed at near-normal levels via the new corridor, but attacks on port facilities continue. Russia has struck ports and allegedly damaged around 200 grain/storage sites since mid-2023.
-Termination of the Black Sea Grain Initiative: Brokered by the UN and Türkiye, the initiative allowed nearly 33 million tons of grain exports from Ukraine between July 2022 and July 2023.
Russia withdrew from the Black Sea Grain Initiative on July 17, 2023. The Kremlin cited the failure to meet its demands to lift sanctions on Russian agricultural exports and grant access to SWIFT for Rosselkhozbank as the formal reason.
In reality the withdrawal from the agreement was an act of blackmail: Moscow sought to use global dependence on Ukrainian grain as a tool for exerting political pressure on the West and the countries of countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
After its withdrawal, Russia began systematically shelling Ukrainian ports and grain infrastructure, increasing the risks of a global food crisis. Moreover, Ukraine secured its Black Sea route through military means - not international agreements, because Russia does not abide by them - and it is the Ukrainian military that today guarantees that Ukrainian food reaches its recipients.
Ukraine’s partial agricultural recovery helps stabilise global food markets, but limitations remain. Lower output and logistical bottlenecks mean export volumes likely stay below pre-war highs.
FAO and World Bank data show that poor regions still face high cereal prices and growing hunger. For example, East Africa alone recorded record humanitarian needs in 2023, partly due to earlier food shocks.
Ukraine’s continued exports of grain, oil and fertilizer are therefore crucial: they prevent a severe global supply gap, but capacity constraints - mined fields, labor shortages, and enemy attacks - limit growth.
Moreover, Russia is trying to legalize stolen grain from Ukraine by transshipping it onto ships flying the flags of third countries (e.g., Syria, Lebanon) and changing certificates of origin to present the grain as Russian.
In July 2024, Ukraine detained the USKO MFU ship (Cameroon flag) on the Danube, suspected of transporting stolen grain from occupied Crimea. According to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, in 2023, Russian companies sold more than 35,000 tons of grain (wheat, barley, corn, peas) from the Kherson Oblast and Crimea.
Russia systematically steals Ukrainian grain and other resources from the occupied territories and exports them using fake ships and documents, often to Syria, Lebanon, and Iran.
In sum, Ukraine is not just a regional agricultural power - it is a linchpin of food security for dozens of low- and middle-income countries.
Russia’s aggression has weaponized this dependency, using hunger as a pressure point. A sustainable solution demands both immediate humanitarian support for affected regions and long-term investment in diversified, resilient food systems.
But in the near term, ensuring Ukraine's continued participation in global food markets - through secure export routes and agricultural recovery - is essential to prevent famine, political instability, and further humanitarian crises in the Global South.
As Russia wages war, the stakes remain high - not only for Ukraine’s sovereignty but for the health, nutrition, and stability of vulnerable populations from Cairo to Mogadishu. The best way to secure the global food system is to help Ukraine win the war now!
This article was produced in partnership with the Ukrainian Institute, Ukraine's major cultural and public diplomacy institution, and NGO Cultural Diplomacy Foundation.
