BEJOU, Minnesota — Russia's invasion of Ukraine is impacting the wheat market worldwide.
Russia is the number one wheat exporter in the world and Ukraine is the fifth. Combined, the two countries make up nearly 30% of global wheat exports, according to NBC News.
The war has led to a surge in prices.
"There's just so much volatility. You just can't even get your arms around how much volatility there is," said Mike Gunderson, president of the Minnesota Wheat Growers Association (MWGA). Gunderson owns a farm in Bejou, Minnesota.
"Certainly we don't like to see all the conflicts over in Europe and what's all happening. That's certainly not a good way to hopefully get any premium in our wheat market but it has been affecting markets greatly," Gunderson said.
While farmers could benefit from higher prices, they are also facing rising costs for things like fertilizer and fuel.
"It's going to be pretty shocking when you see the bills come in this spring on everything," Gunderson said. "It's going to be in the record books for how expensive it's going to be to put in."
Last week, Ukraine banned exports of wheat and other food staples to ensure they can feed people and prevent a humanitarian crisis in the country, according to Ukraine's minister of agrarian and food policy.
"This is a world market.... we are not isolated or insulated from the impacts of cutting off wheat exports or making wheat exports from Ukraine and Russia difficult," said Edward Usset, a University of Minnesota grain market economist.
"In the last two weeks, the price of wheat is up somewhere in the order of 40% or 50%," Usset told KARE 11 earlier this week. "That doesn't mean that the price of a loaf of bread will go up by 40-50%... but it'll impact food prices and we shouldn't kid ourselves about that."
The Associated Press reports that countries in the Middle East, Northern Africa and Asia rely heavily on imports from Ukraine and Russia with about one-third of Ukraine's wheat exports going to Egypt, Indonesia and Bangladesh.
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