Ghosh on the Myth of Grain Shortages

Content

Jayati Ghosh, economics, recently authored a piece for Project Syndicate offering a counterpoint to the popular belief that a global wheat shortage resulted from the war in Ukraine. Instead, Ghosh points to financial speculation and corporate profiteering as the cause of the current food crisis. 

"While global hunger has surged in recent years, it is not because of a shortage of grain. Instead, plummeting exports, dwindling foreign-exchange revenues, capital flight, and higher debt-servicing costs have diminished many countries' ability to import foodstuffs, " writes Ghosh. "To address these challenges, we must shift our focus."