The conflict in Ukraine has disrupted exports from the country, one of the world's largest agricultural producers, and drought and bad weather have plagued important growing regions. "We actually have two crises," Syngenta CEO Erik Fyrwald said on Tuesday, 28, during the Global Food Forum, hosted by The Wall Street Journal. "Food security crises and climate crises."

Fyrwald said extreme climates are growing, with heat, drought or flooding challenging farmers in the US, Europe, Australia and India. This was exacerbated, he said, by the war in Ukraine, which affected world grain markets and raised food prices around the world.

Rising food prices are causing unrest as disruptions in the flow of Ukrainian production exacerbate the stress on the global supply of grains and other goods. The head of the United Nations World Food Programme has warned that an absolute food shortage is possible in 2023 if Russia continues to block exports of agricultural products from Ukraine.

Even among the richest countries in the world, higher food prices are being felt. Prices in U.S. supermarkets rose nearly 12 percent in the 12 months to May, the largest annual increase since April 1979, according to the Labor Department. Prices increased 7.4% at restaurants and other out-of-home food venues, also marking the highest level in more than four decades.

"It's very serious, " said Fyrwald. Food prices "will continue to rise until we can get the products across the Black Sea in southern Ukraine."

Ukraine's wheat exports, which along with Russia's accounted for nearly a third of the global total, are expected to be cut in half this year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The Russian invasion helped lift wheat prices to record levels in March, and although futures have fallen 27% since then, they still accumulate high of about 20% in 2022.

"There won't be enough supply of certain ingredients," said Florian Schattenmann, chief technology officer of Cargill trading, during the event. The war in Ukraine has hampered the availability of ingredients such as sunflower oil used in infant formula, leading companies to reformulate their products, he added.

On Monday, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack called for Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea to be opened to send grain out of the country and help alleviate the global food crisis. "Trade needs to be resumed from the Black Sea ports that were damaged or disrupted by the Russian invasion," he said during the event.

Bad weather, including in South America, is putting more pressure on agricultural regions that have become more important to maintain the world's food supply due to the conflict in Ukraine.

In the U.S., rains and winds in areas of the Midwest slowed the planting of many corn and soybean producers last month. The wet conditions were followed by a dangerous heat wave earlier this month. Meanwhile, the drought is affecting more than 78% of the American West, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Fyrwald said Syngenta is working with farmers in Ukraine, but also continuing to supply seeds and chemicals to Russian farmers. Some agricultural companies, including Syngenta and Bayer, and grain trading companies such as Cargill, continued to sell seeds and move grain in Russia despite pressure to break ties after the invasion of Ukraine.

The companies cite humanitarian reasons for their decisions to continue operating certain parts of their business esand in Russia. "Snygenta looked at this and decided that it serves farmers all over the world," Fyrwald said. "We are not politicians."