Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the war had worsened food insecurity in poorer nations due to rising prices.
Some countries could face long-term famines if Ukraine’s exports are not restored to pre-war levels, he added.
The conflict has cut off supplies from Ukraine’s ports, which once exported vast amounts of cooking oil as well as cereals such as maize and wheat.
This has reduced the global supply and caused the price of alternatives to soar. According to the UN, global food prices are almost 30% higher than at the same time last year.
Speaking in New York on Wednesday, Mr. Guterres said the conflict – combined with the effects of climate change and the pandemic – “threatens to tip tens of millions of people over the edge into food insecurity followed by malnutrition, mass hunger and famine.”
“There is enough food in our world now if we act together. But unless we solve this problem today, we face the spectre of global food shortage in the coming months,” he added.
He warned that the only effective solution to the crisis was reintegrating Ukraine’s food production, as well as fertiliser produced by both Russia and Belarus, back into the global market.
The World Bank announced extra funding worth $12bn (£9.7bn) for projects addressing food insecurity.
Russia and Ukraine produce 30% of the world’s wheat supply and – prior to the war – Ukraine was seen as the world’s bread basket, exporting 4,5 million tonnes of agricultural produce per month through its ports.
But since Russia launched its invasion in February, exports have collapsed, and prices have skyrocketed. They climbed even further after India banned wheat exports on Saturday.
The UN says around 20 million tonnes of grain are currently stuck in Ukraine from the previous harvest, which could ease pressure on global markets if released.
While the number of people facing food insecurity had been growing even before the invasion, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock accused Moscow of making a difficult situation even worse on Wednesday.
“Russia has launched a grain war, stoking a global food crisis,” Berlin’s top diplomat said. “It is doing so at a time when millions are already being threatened by hunger, particularly in the Middle East and Africa.”
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the world faced the “greatest global food security crisis of our time,” which had been exacerbated by what he called Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “war of choice”.
Source: BBC