PARIS (Realist English). French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the EU must come to terms with the prospect that the conflict in the Ukraine could lead to an “extremely serious” global food crisis.
Russia and Ukraine are both gigantic exporters of grain, and half of Africa’s wheat imports come from the two countries, while global food commodity prices have already surged as a result of the conflict. In early March, wheat prices on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange rose to the highest levels since 2008 due to fears of grain supply disruptions.
The French Foreign Minister believes that It’s not sanctions that are making the global food security malfunction, it’s the escalation of the Ukrainian conflict. “Because there aren’t any sanctions on food.” he stressed.
The consequences of the crisis in the Ukraine will be the impossibility of sowing and harvesting, and, consequently, the export of grain, the French diplomat added.
The Ukraine has significantly increased the volumes of grain exports over the past decade. By the end of 2021, grain exports from the Ukraine amounted to 51.2 million tons worth $12.5 billion, which almost coincides with shipments in 2020 in physical terms, but is 31% more in monetary terms. This is 3.7 times higher than in 2010, although 10% less than in the record 2019.
In 2021, the list of the main importers of Ukrainian grain included countries in Asia, Africa and Europe, including: Indonesia — $750 million, Spain — $645 million, the Netherlands – $552 million, Iran — $533 million, Pakistan — $355 million, Libya — $342 million and Tunisia — $306 million.
