Germany would provide food relief to countries facing famine amid the conflict in Ukraine, the chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz said on May 1.

Scholz stated that Germany plans to assist countries experiencing food shortages due to the situation in Eastern Europe. “Right now we must concern ourselves with the fact that there are some people who will starve, that there are countries which will be unable to afford grain for their people,” the chancellor said. Germany would not abandon these poor countries and would help them, Olaf Scholz added.

The German chancellor noted that Ukraine is one of the biggest exporters of grain, and that its export capabilities have been severely hampered due to the conflict.

Earlier, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization reported that global food prices jumped by 12.6% in March, reaching the highest level since 1990. Rising prices of vegetable oils, wheat, meat, sugar, and dairy products pushed the FAO’s price index higher. The vegetable oil price index (sunflower seed, palm, soy and rapeseed oil) rose by 23.2% in March. The cereal price index soared by 17.1%, while grain prices surged by 19.7%. Sugar prices increased by 6.7%.