UN chief `hopeful’ of Ukraine grain deal to help food crisis

By EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations chief says that with global hunger levels at a new high, he is in “intense contacts” with Russia and other key countries and is “hopeful” of an agreement to allow the export of grain stored in Ukrainian ports and ensure Russian food and fertilizer has unrestricted access to global markets. But Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a ministerial meeting Wednesday on the escalating food security crisis that “there is still a long way to go.” Ukraine and Russia produce almost a third of the world’s wheat, and their war has worsened food insecurity driven by climate change, COVID-19 and inequality.