devastate

「〜に打撃を与える、〜を破壊する」。

BBCの記事、'Wheat price fears hit shares in brewers and food firms'から。

'Wheat prices have risen 25% this week as drought and fires have devastated crops in eastern Europe and led to Russia banning the export of grain.

Shares in Danish brewer Carlsberg fell 5.1%, while Diageo, which owns brands such as Guinness, shed 2.2%, and Associated British Foods fell 1.5%.

The Food and Agriculture Organization has played down fears of a food crisis.

On Wednesday, the FAO cut its global wheat production forecast for the year, but said that fears of a world food crisis were "not justified at this point".

That's largely because global wheat stocks have risen substantially in the past couple of years, peaking in June at just under 194 million tonnes, according to US government estimates'.