UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said he is in “intense contact” with Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, the US and the EU to try to restore Ukrainian grain shipments and revive Russian fertiliser exports.

Guterres warned of years of “mass hunger” if a growing global food crisis goes unchecked, as he urged Russia to release Ukrainian grain.

“I am hopeful, but there is still a way to go,” he told a food security meeting at the UN.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was hosting the UN meeting, said countries with significant grain and fertiliser reserves needed to “step up fast” to address global food insecurity.

Together with Russia, Ukraine supplies nearly 30% of global wheat exports, but since the Russian invasion began in February, key ports on the Black Sea, such as Odesa, have been closed and crops are not being exported.

Sanctions against Russia are impacting fertiliser exports.

Why is there a looming food crisis? The BBC’s Ros Atkins explains.