WTO director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has said that a food crisis kicked off by the Ukraine conflict could last for years without intervention. He added that African countries could be hit especially hard by wheat and fertilizer shortages.  <br />'' <br />'' Ms. Okonjo-Iweala said wheat prices had risen 59 percent compared to last year, sunflower oil was up 30 percent, while maize was 23 percent higher. Ukraine is a major global exporter of wheat and sunflower oil.<br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"><br />'' Because of gridlock due mines along the coast, huge quantity of wheat is stuck in Ukraine while global grain prices spiral upwards.<br />'' <br />''The United Nations is trying to establish a grain corridor with a Turkish naval escort for tankers leaving Odessa and other Ukrainian ports. However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said, Ukraine needs to clear mines from its Black Sea ports.</span>