After Russia invaded Ukraine last February, attacking grain fields and silos and blocking Ukrainian ports, global food prices have soared to record levels and threatened much-needed food supplies for many importing countries
By abandoning the Black Sea grain agreement, Russia raised global prices. Almost a year after the agreement was signed in Istanbul on July 17, Russia decided not to renew the Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI) that allows Ukraine to continue exporting agricultural goods to world markets during the war. As Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General pointed out, this initiative was "a beacon of hope in a world that desperately needs it," writes the Guardian.
Before Russia's attack on Ukraine, the country was a key global food supplier: a fifth of the world's barley came from Ukraine, as well as a sixth of its corn and an eighth of its wheat. After Russia invaded Ukraine last February, attacking grain fields and silos and blocking Ukrainian ports, global food prices have soared to record levels and threatened much-needed food supplies for many importing countries. BSGI aimed to re-establish a vital route for agricultural exports from Ukraine and lower global food prices.
Despite many challenges, he achieved his key purpose. As of August 2022, exports of almost 33 million tons of grain and food from Ukraine to 45 countries played a key role in reducing global food prices by 25 percent, as the record was reached shortly after the Russian attack. According to public trade data, more than half of cereals, including two-thirds of wheat, went to developing countries.
In addition, BSGI has ensured continued access to grain for the World Food Program (WFP). In 2023, Ukraine delivered 80 percent of the wheat procured to support humanitarian operations in the most insecure countries such as Afghanistan, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. Without the Black Sea route, WFP must source its grain elsewhere at higher prices and with longer delivery times at a time when the world is facing an unprecedented food crisis.
Russia's decision despite UN proposals
Russia's decision was made despite renewed proposals by the UN Secretary General to work on resolving the country's concerns. To shift the blame, Russia claims that its own agricultural exports were not facilitated enough. This is not borne out by publicly available trade data, which show that Russian agricultural exports are thriving.
Russia has benefited significantly from the memorandum of understanding with the UN on fertilizer exports, brokered in parallel with BSGI. The UN has worked relentlessly to clarify regulatory frameworks and engage the private sector in finding dedicated solutions in the banking and insurance sectors. These efforts have been carried out in close cooperation with the EU and its partners.
Contrary to the lies spread by Russia, the EU has indeed ensured that the sanctions have no impact on global food security. There are no sanctions on Russian exports of food and fertilizers to third countries, and the EU has provided extensive guidance to economic operators, clarifying that these transfers to third countries are permitted. We have also worked with the UN to allow related payments.
Russia decided to withdraw from BSGI
Despite these well-known and verifiable facts, Russia decided to withdraw from the BSGI in July, using food as a weapon and threatening the global food supply. Hours after the withdrawal, Russia began destroying Ukrainian grain warehouses and port infrastructure with daily targeted attacks, not only in the Black Sea itself but also on the Danube.
As an immediate reaction, the wholesale prices of wheat and corn recorded the largest increase since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression. Increased food price volatility is likely to continue as long as Russia deliberately stresses the global food supply, exacerbating the global cost-of-living crisis – most acutely for people who are insecure in import-dependent countries. This is unacceptable and should be strongly condemned.
As the world faces supply disruptions and higher prices, Russia is now reaching out to vulnerable countries, particularly in Africa, with bilateral offers of limited grain supplies, pretending to solve a problem of its own making. This is a cynical policy of deliberately using food as a weapon.
MJ / The Guardian
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