President Joe Biden just issued a warning about impending food shortages resulting from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Breitbart News reports.
Biden’s warning came during a press conference that he gave in Brussels, Belgium, on Thursday. Biden is in Europe to, among other things, meet with NATO to discuss the Russia-Ukraine crisis. The press conference took place after Biden spoke with other world leaders.
“With regard to food shortage, yes we did talk about food shortages, and it’s gonna be real,” Biden said.
Collateral damage
Biden went on to suggest that the impending food shortage, at least in part, is the result of the sanctions that have been imposed on Russia.
“The price of the sanctions is not just imposed upon Russia,” Biden said. “It’s imposed upon an awful lot of countries as well, including European countries and our country as well.”
Biden noted that “Russia and Ukraine have been the breadbasket of Europe in terms of wheat, for example.”
Biden said that he and other leaders talked about the need to “increase and disseminate” food production. He said, for example, that the U.S. and Canada will look to boost wheat production to account for the decrease in supply.
“In addition, we talked about urging all European countries and everyone else to end trade restrictions on sending — limitations on sending food abroad,” Biden said. “And, so we are in the process of working out with our European friends what it would be, what it would take to help alleviate the concerns relative to food shortages.”
The worst is still yet to come
Ukraine is the world’s fourth-leading wheat producer, whereas Russia is the leading wheat producer. Together, they account for roughly one-fourth of the world’s wheat exports.
Neither country directly exports wheat to the U.S. But Fox reports, “their absence from the global market is expected to strain supply and push prices higher.”
In other words, here in America, under Biden’s leadership, the economic crisis is likely to still get worse.
We have already seen the rise in gas and oil following the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Now get ready in the coming months for even bigger grocery bills than what we have already seen.