Let’s recall that threat of a global food crisis did not emerge as recently as this year. Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme David Beasley warned about a possibility of famines “of biblical proportions” back in 2020.
At that point, 155 million people in 55 countries were already facing critical threats to food security. Among the reasons he cited were conflicts, extreme weather phenomena, and economic perturbations.
As of today, the number of starving people is estimated to stand at 193 million. Secretary general of Unctad Rebeca Grynspan said that there is no problem of a physical deficit of food in the world, and that it is all about food distribution systems. By February this year, the prices were already more than 60 per cent higher than the five-year average.
Among the reasons, leading experts point out such consequences of Covid-19 pandemic as interruptions in supply chains, growing freight and insurance charges. Steep increase of anti-crisis financial injections in economy also played a role: the United States, European Union, and Japan jointly spent more than $8 trillion on that.
Add to this all previously started trade wars and lasting contradictions with regard to agricultural market regulations. As a result, food supplies turned out to stand at their lowest in recent five to 10 years. At the same time, Western states drew over all commodity flows, which aggravated the already complicated situation of import-dependent developing countries.
In 2020-2022 oil prices increased by more than 22 per cent, affecting the food industry. Gas price also went a record high, even though Russia enhanced deliveries. This led up to an unprecedented increase in prices for mineral fertilisers in December 2021: carbamide and saltpeter prices multiplied by 3.5-4, prices for other fertilisers increased two- or threefold. Speculations at Western futures markets of foodstuffs add to the problem.
None of these key factors can be blamed on Russia.
Nonetheless our Western colleagues do not mention any of these. Of course, they also omit unilateral economic sanctions that are suffocating a whole range of states. All of them are talking about one and the same thing: it is the Russian special military operation in Ukraine that allegedly threatens the world with famine.
Allegedly, we block agricultural exports from Ukraine by sea. In truth, it is Ukraine who has blocked 75 vessels from 17 states and has mined the waterways. Russia's armed forces daily open a humanitarian corridor for vessels leading away from Ukraine’s territorial waters.
There are still risks posed by Ukrainian unanchored mines floating in the Black Sea. Russia takes all measures to ensure safety of civil navigation. We daily forward this information i.a. to the United Nations. Ukraine takes no such efforts.
In these circumstances, deliveries of agricultural products and fertilisers from Russia and Belarus encounter another problem that Western states created artificially: the illegal unilateral coercive measures. They affected the area of agriculture even before the recent events in Ukraine.
But after February 24, 2022, a true mayhem began. More than 10,000 sanctions were imposed on Russia alone. They disrupted transportation routes, impeded movement of Russian vessels and banned them from entering ports, caused problems with freight and insurance, restricted international commercial transactions.
Difficulties with banking transactions hit not only most vulnerable private importers, but also humanitarian agencies, including WFP. Western sanctions-related threats to our energy sector keep destabilising the markets.
Nevertheless, let me assure you that Russia remains a responsible supplier of both food and energy. This year we expect record crops of wheat. Starting from August 1 we can offer to export 25 million tonnes of grain.
But if the Western countries do not want to lift their sanctions of choice, why blame us for the food crisis? Why must poorest countries and regions suffer from those irresponsible geopolitical games of theirs?
Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations
This is an abridged version of the statement by Amb Nebenzia at UN Security Council open debate 'Conflict and food security' of May 19, 2022
