The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, issued a warning this Wednesday about global shortages of energy, food and fertilizers due to the impact on these markets caused by the Russian-Ukrainian war.

"No country can insulate itself from a collapse of the global economic system" said Guterres, advancing that the crisis will have a "domino effect of food or fuel hoarding," which in the long run could increase levels of poverty and hunger.

António Guterres' statements were made at the opening of the first meeting of a crisis team set up by the UN in March to coordinate a global response to the crisis in Ukraine.

At the meeting it was established that the first priority is to support the Ukrainians, but also to protect the most vulnerable people and countries in the world.

António Guterres recalled that many developing countries were already struggling to recover from the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and "now face soaring food, energy and fertilizer bills."

The UN Secretary-General is of the opinion that one should "avoid hoarding and speculation" and make reforms that allow "those who need money to buy essential things for their countries to access these funds, reviewing the rules and eligibility criteria where necessary."

The UN has warned of the impacts of the war for many countries, due to rising fuel prices and the fact that Russia and Ukraine are two of the world's largest producers of grain and fertilizer.

The two warring countries account for more than half of the world's supply of sunflower oil and 30% of wheat.

According to the UN, Ukraine alone produced, until now, more than half of the wheat used by the World Food Programme (WFP), the UN agency that supports countries in the fight against hunger.

In addition, there are 45 countries that import at least a third of their wheat from Ukraine or Russia and another 18 that buy at least half of what they consume.