U.S., Western sanctions against Russia exacerbate global food crisis
□ Wang Wei, a trainee reporter of this newspaper
□ Zhang Chunyou, our correspondent in Russia
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has been going on for three months.The sanctions imposed by the United States and the West on Russia, citing the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, have caused an overall surge in the prices of grains, edible oil, fertilizers and energy.
Analysts have warned that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has pushed up global food prices, while the US and Western sanctions against Russia will trigger an "unprecedented food crisis" in the world.
food crisis looms
Russia and Ukraine are major exporters of wheat and corn.Data show that Russia and Ukraine together account for nearly 30% of global wheat exports, making them an important "granary" in the world.Since Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, the United States and other Western countries have imposed a number of sanctions on Russia, involving shipping, finance and many other fields.
For Russia, Western sanctions have made many buyers afraid to order Russian goods, banks are reluctant to provide financing for Russian goods trade, and Russian agricultural products are difficult to enter the global market.Ukraine closed its domestic ports after the outbreak of the conflict and announced a ban on the export of major agricultural products such as wheat and oats to ensure domestic supplies.
According to reports, due to the conflict, food exports between the two countries have been restricted, which has affected 17% of the global food supply.
Since last year, countries in the Horn of Africa (located in northeastern Africa) have suffered from lack of precipitation in many rainy seasons. Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and other countries are experiencing severe droughts and tens of millions of people are suffering from food shortages.Combined with factors such as the new crown pneumonia epidemic and the intensification of conflicts in some countries, the African people are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.The current conflict between Russia and Ukraine has exacerbated the food crisis in Africa.
Not only in Africa, but some countries in Asia are also facing severe shortages of food and fuel.In addition, the latest article published by the British Economist Intelligence Unit pointed out that Ukraine and Russia are the world's major grain exporters.About a quarter of EU imports of grains, vegetable oils and about half of corn imports come from Ukraine.About two-thirds of Ukraine's grain exports and three-quarters of its sunflower oil exports go through the country's Black Sea ports, which are now closed.
In this regard, the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development warned that the international community is increasingly worried that the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine will exacerbate global hunger and poverty, which will lead to social unrest in some regions.
Russia refutes accusations
The United States and the West blamed Russia for rising food prices and a global food crisis, accusing Russia of "using food as a weapon to obstruct supply, not only 'kidnapping' Ukrainians, but also affecting the livelihoods of millions of people around the world."
The Russian government refuted the remarks of the United States and the West, emphasizing that the sanctions of the United States and the West were the culprit of the global food crisis.
Russia's permanent representative to the United Nations, Nebenja, said that the world has long suffered from a food crisis caused by hyperinflation.It is the sanctions imposed on Russia by Western countries that have created the current situation of global food insecurity.
Antonov, the Russian ambassador to the United States, also said that in recent years, the wrong macroeconomic policies of Western countries and the new crown pneumonia epidemic have damaged global food security.The issue of food security existed long before the Russian-Ukrainian conflict broke out.Unilateral and illegal sanctions against Russia by Western countries have further exacerbated the global food crisis.
Russian Presidential Press Secretary Peskov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed with the United Nations' assessment of the global food crisis and emphasized that "Russia has always been a fairly reliable exporter of grains, and we are not the source of the global food problem. The source of this problem is Those who are imposing sanctions on Russia are the sanctions themselves, and the sanctions are having an impact on the grain market."
Dmitry Medvedev, vice chairman of the Russian National Security Council, said that Russia is willing to fulfill all obligations, but Russia has the right to ask its trading partners to provide some assistance.On the one hand, Russia was sanctioned by Western countries, and on the other hand, Western countries demanded the supply of food.If Western countries continue to impose devastating sanctions on Russia, don't expect Russia to continue to provide food.
seek relief
The soaring prices of commodities such as wheat, corn, oil and natural gas have caused serious worries and panic in the international community.As some analysts have said, the negative effects of US and Western sanctions against Russia have begun to emerge.
In order to alleviate the global food crisis, UN Secretary-General Guterres recently negotiated closely with Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, the United States and the European Union to resume Ukrainian grain exports.He said the Russian-Ukrainian conflict had a huge impact on the economies of developing countries and could lead to political instability and social unrest in parts of Africa, exacerbating food, energy and financial crises across Africa.There is no real solution to the food security problem without re-entering the market for grain and fertilizer from Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus.
According to reports, Senegalese President Markey Sall will soon visit Russia and Ukraine on behalf of the African Union as the rotating chairman of the African Union.He called on Western countries to lift sanctions on Russia's fertilizer exports to Africa.
Analysts pointed out that the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine is one of the reasons for the global food crisis.The delay in the resolution of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is not unrelated to the "toughness" of the United States and the West toward Russia.The United States and the West should stop interfering in the Ukraine issue, so as to avoid further escalation of the situation and thus prevent developing countries from falling into trouble.
