Because the World Food Program, honored in 2020 with the
The Effect of COVID Lockdown and Russian-Ukraine conflict on
Supply Chain of Wheat experienced by Philippines and other
countries.
PRODUCTS
WHEAT IN THE PHILIPPINES
 Wheat cannot be grown in the Philippines since the crop only
thrives in cold temperatures.
 The Philippines produces no wheat, but wheat flour is increasing
in importance in the diet of its people with growing affluence,
making the country a major importer, particularly from the
United States. Rice remains the main staple of its people's diet.
 Philippines imports Wheat primarily from: United States
($810M), Australia ($168M), Romania ($122M), Ukraine
($119M), and Russia ($110M).
Russian-Ukraine conflict
 Forty percent of the World Food Program’s wheat supplies
come from Ukraine.
Because of the Russian-Ukraine conflict that’s happening until now,
the supplies of wheat according to Ukraine’s ministry for agriculture,
due to the Russian war on that country, approximately 22 million
tons of grain are stranded in Ukraine waiting for export.
World Food Program Executive Director David Beasley stated,
“Failure to open those ports… will be a declaration of war on
global food security… And it will result in famine and
destabilization and mass migration around the world.”
Nobel Peace Prize, gets so much of its grain supplies from Ukraine,
those dependent on WFP’s food assistance are among the hardest
hit. Last year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner reports that more than 275
million people worldwide “are on the brink of starvation”—a new
and tragic record. It states that there are “44 million in 38 countries
at the ‘emergency’ phase of food insecurity…one step away from a
declaration of famine.” People in South Sudan, Yemen, Afghanistan,
and elsewhere are at “serious risk” according to the UN agency.
The combination of rising food prices and supplies disruption
has led Beasley to say, “In many countries we are forced to make
the heart-breaking decision to take food from hungry children to
give it to starving children.” In other words, Russia’s war on Ukraine
has created many victims—in Ukraine, to be sure, but also
thousands of miles away.
COVID LOCKDOWN
 The lockdown had its immediate effects on supply chain of food
commodities right from production to consumption.
 Reduction in work hours and or workforce due to pandemic,
alternative days of work were the causes of labor shortage
limiting operations in production.
 From a consumer's point there was a sharp increase in demand
for essential products causing a temporary shortage in the
market
 Wheat is a major staple crop and plays a pivotal role in
supplementing the food security needs of India, the restrictions
on movement of goods and services disrupted the commodity
supply chain hampering the uninterrupted flow of inputs and
outputs within the agricultural system.