2007–08 world food price crisis

Greece's economy is particularly vulnerable to fluctuations in international energy prices due to its high dependence on fossil fuels, and despite the support provided to industry and low-income households, could be severely affected by prices, the European Commission noted this week.

The US believes that the UN Secretary-General is too willing to accommodate Russian interests. This is evident from new revelations from the leaked secret Pentagon documents. They show that Washington is keeping a close eye on Antonio Guterres. Several documents describe private communications involving Guterres and his deputy, the BBC reports.

Turkey's foreign minister said on Friday he agreed with Russia's request to lift obstacles to Russian fertilizer and grain exports, and that this needed to be addressed to extend the overall Black Sea grain deal involving Ukraine.

Chicago wheat and corn futures slid yesterday, with prices under pressure after a deal to export grains from war-torn Ukraine was extended over the weekend, easing some of the concerns over global supply.

Soybeans ticked lower on ample supplies from newly harvested record crop in Brazil.

Russia has signaled that it can end the implementation of the grain deal if the problems in front of the export of Russian products through the Black Sea remain until May 18.

Russia agreed on March 13 to extend the Ukraine grain export deal, but only for a further 60 days, in a proposal criticised by Kiev.

Following talks with the United Nations in Geneva, Moscow said it would not oppose prolonging the so-called Black Sea Grain Initiative aimed at easing the global food crisis, as had been feared.

Japan's consumer prices rose 4 percent in December from a year earlier, a level not seen since December 1981, fueled in part by higher energy bills, government data showed on Jan. 20.

The acceleration came after a 3.7 percent increase in prices in November, and the data from the internal affairs ministry showed inflation for the 2022 calendar year stood at 2.3 percent.

Global food prices fell in December for the ninth month in a row, but nevertheless rose 14 percent in 2022 compared to the previous year to record levels, the World Food Organization (FAO) reported to the United Nations, cited by "Reuters".

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Oct. 28 called on "all parties" to "make every effort" to extend the agreement on Ukrainian grain exports, including facilitating shipments of Russian grain, his spokesman said.

Senior officials from Türkiye and Ukraine have discussed the continuation of the grain deal that will allow the export of the latter's wheat and other products to the world market for another four months.