Asian economies, already facing skyrocketing prices as a result of the Russia - Ukraine conflict, are being hit with food shortages as shipments are cancelled and delivery routes upended, analysts say. At least eight Black Sea corn cargoes set aside for Asian importers had been cancelled since the start of the week with some buyers rushing to find replacements from other countries, commodities analyst S&P Global Commodity Insights said on Friday. Those who can get hold of bulk supplies of corn – mainly imported for animal feed – were slugged with high prices which hit their highest since 2016 at just over US$412 a tonne, according to price assessments conducted by S&P. The price of corn has risen 17 per cent since the start of the war, according to S&P. “Asian buyers and sellers are in a scramble for corn and wheat supplies as supply has been cut off from the Black Sea,” commodities analyst S&P Global Commodity Insights said. China boosts ‘very tight’ soybeans supply with US agriculture purchases “Buyers are now prepared to pay higher for corn arriving in three to four months to North Asia because their search for prompt arrivals has been unsuccessful.” Ukraine, which ships from the Black Sea, is a major corn exporter accounting for 16 per cent of the world’s yearly exports, according to food and agribusiness analyst RaboResearch. But heavy fighting has now closed off parts of the Black Sea, shared by Ukraine and Russia and other countries, cancelling sailings and cutting off seaborne exports to Asia. The strategic Black Sea port of Kherson fell to Russian forces this week while four Russian troops were headed for another Black Sea port where an Estonian-owned cargo ship sank on Thursday. “Parts of the Black Sea and Sea of Azov are now dangerous or unpassable. There have been missile attacks on vessels and ship arrests and lane closures for commercial shipping,” container leasing platform Container xChange chief executive Christian Roeloffs said. “The Ukrainian seaports of Odessa and Mariupol are closed/damaged/under attack. Trade and container movements have ceased. Cargo and equipment are stuck at ports.” “Due to ongoing disruption to shipping in the Black Sea we expect container build-ups at ports to exacerbate at storage areas across the region.” While there are no empty warehouses yet, the amount of Ukrainian wheat in South Korea, which is used for animal feed, will only last till late June or early July after which various food industries could be affected, according to agrifood market intelligence firm Tridge. Tridge said the South Korean government announced a plan to decrease the interest rates of government subsidy loans for food purchases on Friday. India, the world’s largest consumer of vegetable oil, has had to look to palm oil after Ukrainian supplies of sunflower oil were cut off but palm oil exporters such as Indonesia have in turn tightened exports to protect domestic supplies, S&P said. The Indonesian government, however, has introduced export quotas forcing importers to obtain permits to buy palm oil only from Indonesian sellers which have met a 20 per cent local sale. In Asia, China, a big buyer of these food commodities from Russia and Ukraine, as well as South Korea, India, South Korea and smaller Southeast Asian nations are all Black Sea customers. Ukraine, which ships from the Black Sea, is a significant supplier of corn, sunflower oil and wheat, alongside Russia. Ukraine and Russia also supply much of the region’s oats and other cereals with Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Myanmar exposed to a shortage. India and Southeast Asian countries also rely on the two countries for fertilisers and related raw materials such as sulphur and potash. Curtailed supplies of these bulk foods has further upset the balance of food supply chains across Asia, potentially reducing subsequent production of other consumer foods and ramping up inflation in the region, economists say. “With food occupying a significant share of the basket of consumer goods prices in many economies across the [Asia Pacific] region, this will push up overall consumer price inflation, and potentially hurt consumption,” global insurer Coface economists Bernard Aw and Eve Barre said. The outlook was particularly dim for China, South Korea, Japan, India and Indonesia, rating agency Moody’s Investors Service said. “Commodity price pressures will likely lead to currency depreciation and heightened inflation, through imported inflation, in some emerging market countries, which will tighten financial conditions and weaken growth,” it said in a note on Thursday. “The rise in oil and food prices will limit household spending on other goods.” There are however some winners in the region in this upheaval. Australia stands to gain as an alternative producer of wheat to Asia, S&P says. Major Australian grain supplier CBH has allotted an additional 540,000 tonnes of shipping capacity in anticipation of a surge in demand. It has also asked farmers in Western Australia to volunteer trucks to help transport grain from farm to ports.