Updated on 05/12/2022 at 18:49
- As a result of the war, millions of tons of grain were trapped in Ukraine and lost on the world market.
- Occupying Russia now declares a harvest record and sees itself as a solution to a problem in the global food supply.
- The EU is also looking for a solution.
President of Russia Vladimir Putin This year marks a record wheat harvest and has announced an increase in exports. “According to experts – these are certainly only preliminary estimates – the grain harvest will be 130 million tons, including 87 million tons of wheat,” the Kremlin leader told a government meeting on Thursday. According to him, it will be an achievement for wheat.
Russia It is one of the largest cereal producers in the world, playing an important role in global nutrition. The situation in the grocery stores is getting more and more complicated Ukraine, Which is one of the world’s most important wheat exporters: “20 million tons of grain must leave Ukraine within 3 months,” said EU Transport Commissioner Adina Vallean. The grain threatens to prevent the deposits needed for the next harvest. Ukraine is currently unable to export due to Black Sea ports blocked by Russia.
The G7 group of leading democracies wants to ensure that Ukraine is a major grain exporter. At the beginning of the Weißenhäuser Strand on Thursday, Union Foreign Minister Annalena Berbakh (Greens) said at the start of consultations with colleagues from other G7 countries on how to prevent the current grain siege by Russia and how to bring Ukrainian grain into the world. Baltic Sea.
25 million tons of grain are blocked in Ukraine
Currently, 25 million tons of grain are blocked in Ukrainian ports, especially in Odessa. Grains are urgently needed in African and Middle Eastern countries. The food crisis that is intensifying due to the global climate impact is developing in the sky.
Putin announced that exports would increase again if the harvest yielded the desired result. This record “allows us to easily meet our own needs, but also to increase exports to the global market for our partners, which is important for the global food market,” he said.
Kyiv accuses it of looting grain stores and importing or destroying agricultural produce. On Thursday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba told ARD Morgenmagazin that Russia was now acquiring Ukrainian grain in southern Ukraine.
In the wake of the Russian war against Ukraine, food prices have risen significantly in recent weeks. Poor harvests are expected in many regions because Western sanctions on Russia and Belarus also affect fertilizer exports.
The European Union wants to re-export exports from Ukraine
Due to the tense situation, the EU Commission has released an action plan on how to sell Ukraine’s exports by land. Items such as humanitarian aid should also be brought into the country through so-called traces of solidarity. One of the challenges is that most Ukrainian wagons are not compatible with the EU rail network, so most of the cargo must be transferred to trucks or other wagons. In addition, there are only a few conveniences within the boundaries of this time consuming process.
The EU Commission has now called on private and government agencies to make more vehicles available and to set up a logistics base to streamline processes. Food exports from Ukraine should be given priority, and EU countries are called upon to provide adequate manpower for customs and other systems and to “use maximum flexibility”.
Tensions in agricultural markets are high at a meeting of G7 agriculture ministers on Friday and Saturday in Stuttgart. Federal Minister Cem Ostmeier (Greens) said it should send a signal over the weekend: “Global rankings for safe food and free trade are closed.” The head of the Ukrainian department is also expected. The G7 group includes Germany, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, the United States and Great Britain. (dpa / fra)
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