“There are not enough ships in the world to transport enough gas to Europe” (Neo Kohn) 

Neo Kohn published an extensive interview with senior research fellow David Laborde on how the food crisis can affect Europe and why replacing Russian gas with liquefied gas is not a solution. Laborde said, “Even before the war, the food market was tight, meaning that supply was somewhat low while demand was high and food stocks were depleted. The two players in the war, Russia and Ukraine, are important players in the world market. With their sudden disappearance from the world market, or at least partially, the shortage became even greater and prices rose. That is why the price of wheat doubled in the few days after the invasion.” When discussing how the Middle East is especially affected by the Ukraine War, Laborde explained that the Middle East is highly exposed to the effects of the war. “Countries there are not fully democratic and use food to control the population. “Bread and circus” is how they try to stabilize the population. Governments often intervene in the market with food subsidies.” He added that the Middle East had relied on an open Black Sea Region market where wheat left Ukraine and arrived in the Middle East where wheat is widely consumed. Laborde discussed other topics and offered solutions.