Arab food security in front of the biggest threat

Whoever thinks that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is nothing but a conventional war that the Arabs have nothing to do with except that they are spectators, is certainly delusional. The repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian war will be great and profound for the Arab countries, especially if it is prolonged and continues for another period, even if we agree that its effects On the Arab region will vary from country to country.

Since the beginning of this year, i.e. in just two months, wheat prices in global markets have risen by 57%, and this is an unprecedented rise in terms of percentage and speed since 1973 when prices jumped at that time on the impact of the October war that ignited great global tension. In it, both the United States and the Soviet Union, and if the Ukraine war continues for a long time, and the rise in wheat prices remains at this pace, this means that 2022 may record the largest rise in wheat prices ever.

The rise in wheat prices threatens our Arab region with a food crisis and a poverty crisis at the same time, as the Arabs constitute less than 5% of this humanity, but they consume more than 20% of the world’s grain production, and Egypt alone imports more than 5% of the total trade wheat in the world, while Egypt and Algeria account for 10% of the wheat that is exported in the world. It does not seem that Algeria will face any problem in the current situation, as it is one of the oil producers, and it will benefit from the increase in its prices, as last year it was sold at twenty dollars, and this year it exceeded the levels of 130 dollars, which means that the surpluses that will result from oil sales will cover the rise in wheat prices And increase, while the problem seems deeper for the countries that import the two, which are on the verge of a double crisis. With the rise in wheat and oil prices, it has become easy for any observer, even for any sane person, to expect high rates of inflation, and the expansion of poverty, hunger and unemployment, accordingly in our Arab world, which means that the region is on the verge of more crises, although it You sleep on riches unparalleled anywhere else in the world. The looming wheat crisis, which will make a loaf of bread a kind of luxury in some Arab countries, brings to mind the big question about the lack of food security in our Arab countries. Even the rich and oil-producing countries may find a shortage of wheat imports, if the war in Ukraine or If it expands, this will open up a series of questions regarding the future of our food and our loaf of Arabic bread.

There are many questions that can be asked in this context, but the most important of them are: Why do rich Arab countries invest in US Treasury bonds and stock markets on Wall Street instead of turning to strategic investments such as wheat cultivation in Sudan and Egypt, for example? How do we understand that a giant and water-rich country the size of Egypt imports between 80% to 90% of its wheat, while billions are pumped into building bridges, tunnels and government buildings in the new capital? Was it not possible to pump these billions into securing wheat and bread, and to spare the country and the people this threat? The Arab world today suffers from the real biggest threat, which is the collapse of the food security system, and this system cannot be guaranteed by US arms deals or combat aircraft, as hunger, poverty, economic, social and living crises cannot be overcome with weapons that Arabs buy from the United States, but only by eating what they grow They wear what they produce.