Wheat prices rose by 3% after the explosion of the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine on June 6, according to the market data tracking service Barchart Trader.
The price is now at $6,4 per bushel.
"Wheat went up by 3% – that is how the markets reacted to the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant," said Oleh Nivievskyi, associate professor at the Kyiv School of Economics.
Nivievskyi wrote on Telegram that markets are expecting an "escalation."
Ukraine's Southern Operational Command reported early in the morning that Russian forces blew up the Kakhovka dam, causing massive flooding of villages and towns downstream of the Dnipro River.
Evacuation of civilians is underway, with 1,300 people transported by 3 p.m. local time.
Many areas can lose access to their main water supply as a result of the disaster, threatening local agricultural production.
Some experts believe that vegetable growers in the affected region may lose 20,000 hectares of productive land.
Ukraine is one of the leading agricultural producers and exporters in the world, as its grain feeds a number of countries in Africa and the Middle East.
Igor Kossov
