The World Blog by humble servant.

India has prohibited all exports of wheat with immediate effect, the country’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry announced on Friday. The ministry said the drastic move was necessary due to “a sudden spike in the global prices of wheat arising out of many factors, as a result of which the food security of India, neighboring and other vulnerable countries is at risk.” The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has put the world on the brink of major food crisis as the two countries are major suppliers to the international market, accounting for around 30% of global wheat exports. Food prices around the world have soared by a third, with the UN warning that some 44 million people are heading towards starvation. There were hopes that India, which is the world’s second-largest wheat producer, could help to compensate for global shortages as the country projected a record harvest of 111.3 million tons (mt) in 2021-22, with between 10mt and 15mt earmarked for export. In April, the country ...

Russia's oil export revenue has jumped some 50% since the beginning of 2022, Bloomberg reports, citing data from the International Energy Agency (IEA). According to the agency’s monthly market report, Moscow has earned some $20 billion each month this year from sales of crude oil and oil-related products. The earnings growth came despite Western sanctions over Russia’s military operation in Ukraine. As part of these penalties, the US banned all Russian oil imports, the EU and UK announced plans to scrap all purchases of Russian crude by the end of the year, and international oil giants such as Shell and TotalEnergies vowed to stop buying oil from the country. However, according to the IEA, Russian shipments have only increased – by some 620,000 barrels per day compared to March to 8.1 million in April, returning to their average before the Ukraine crisis and the ensuing sanctions. Due to increased demand, more shipments were directed toward Asia, with China and India claiming s...