THE UKRAINE CRISIS AND THE FOOD SECURITY IN IRAN

Abstract

In the past year, Iran has witnessed high inflation of food items and the spread of food insecurity. However, the whole world has witnessed the crisis of rising food prices after the war in Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine are two large producers of agricultural fertilizers and some food products, which, along with Belarus (sanctioned supporter of Russia and producer of fertilizers), can play an important role in price changes in the market .But this trend of rising prices has been more intense in Iran. So much so that according to the official report of the World Bank, Iran is the third country in the world in the real rate of food inflation. According to the rapid changes in food prices, there is a connection between the war in Ukraine and food inflation in Iran. On the other hand, studies show that due to the lack of high food trade between Iran and Ukraine, this unbridled food inflation in Iran cannot be caused by the problem of imports from Ukraine. As a result, there is an indirect relationship between the war in Ukraine and food inflation in Iran. A set of factors such as harsh sanctions, non-payment of subsidies, multi-rate currency, rent, etc. has created a potential for explosion. And the war in Ukraine played a role of a match on this gunpowder store.