Russia-Ukraine War and Drought Push Global Wheat Prices Near Three-Year High

Global wheat prices have climbed toward a three-year high in recent weeks as Russia and Ukraine step up attacks on each other's Black Sea grain terminals and drought curbs output in several producing regions. According to Al Jazeera, Chicago wheat futures, the global benchmark, hit a three-year high on Friday, 6 Shahrivar (August 28), before easing 0.54 percent to $7.79 a bushel by 02:00 GMT on Monday, 9 Shahrivar (August 31). Ukraine's Ministry of Infrastructure reported 35 Russian attacks on vessels in port, 22 at sea and 67 on port facilities in July alone, compared with just 14 total vessel strikes for all of 2025. Ukraine's agriculture minister said on Friday that recent Russian air attacks had destroyed about 90 percent of retailers' food logistics infrastructure in the country.

Joe Glauber, a research fellow emeritus at the International Food Policy Research Institute, told Al Jazeera the core problem is not a shortage of wheat but the cost and difficulty of moving it to buyers. Egypt, the world's largest wheat importer, sourced more than 82 percent of its wheat from Russia and Ukraine in the first half of 2026, while Indonesia, Asia's second largest importer, has had to seek alternative supplies from Bulgaria, Australia, Romania and Argentina. The rise in global wheat and grain prices is among the factors shaping food import costs and domestic inflation in countries, including Iran, that source part of their wheat needs from global markets.