S. Jaishankar Warns of Imminent Global Food Crisis

India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar warned of an imminent "major food crisis" during an event hosted by the Asia Society in New York. He attributed the risk to a compounding "four-part crisis" involving food, fuel, fertilisers, and finance, which he stated has had a "devastating impact" on Global South economies.

Jaishankar identified the conflicts in Ukraine and the Iran-Gulf region as primary drivers of the instability. These geopolitical tensions have disrupted grain shipments through Black Sea corridors and crippled fertiliser production in Russia and West Asia. He noted that these disruptions, combined with a "super El Nino" climate pattern, are placing severe pressure on developing nations.

Regarding energy, Jaishankar described a "double crisis" where the security of oil supplies and the politics of those supplies feed into each other to keep markets tight and inflate prices. He cautioned that these economic pressures drive political instability and cause capital to flee developing nations for safer financial havens.

Urging global leaders to abandon "self-centred" policymaking, Jaishankar argued that wealthier nations have a pragmatic interest in preventing instability in the Global South. He further noted that progress toward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals is falling severely behind schedule.