Is it time for a windfall tax on food wholesalers and supermarkets?

In a time of food supply problems – exasperated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine – we need to rethink a broken system, argues Tim Benton

A wheat field in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region earlier this month (AFP via Getty Images)

We are approaching a make-or-break point for global food supplies. The blockade of Odesa’s ports is preventing grain from being shipped from Ukraine to import-dependent countries like Egypt, Libya and Somalia which are in desperate need of being able to shore up stockpiles.

Ukraine is traditionally among the world’s the top ten global wheat producing countries, and despite the invasion of Ukraine, its farmers have managed to produce a sizeable winter wheat crop. But if the ports remain blocked the grain silos won’t be emptied and this new harvest may simply rot in the fields.

But while the immediate threat is deeply worrying, Ukraine’s conflict may not be over quickly. A battle of attrition may drag on for some time, impeding the flow of grain from this breadbasket region.