South Korean bakeries shut down ovens as Ukraine war sends wheat prices soaring

More than 1,200 bakeries across South Korea shut their doors during the first half of 2022 as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused a price spike for essential ingredients including wheat, flour and cooking oil.

Ukraine was a major exporter of wheat and cooking oil until the war cut off supplies, and South Korea is also struggling with its highest inflation in 24 years.

The nation’s consumer price index rose 6 per cent, year on year, in June 2022, prompting the South Korean central bank to hike interest rates 50 basis points on July 13, 2022 – the sixth increase since August 2021.

Tags: grain, South Korea, prices, Bread, flour