The US allocates $3 billion to the Food Securities Fund. And what of it for Ukraine?
Global food crisis does not leave the media agenda in spite of formal stabilisation of grain prices.
After five months of decreasing the FAO food price index the global hunger issue gets maximal relevance again. This occurs as the review of the Istanbul Agreement comes, which granted a short-term opportunity for Ukraine to export its grain cargoes from the Black Sea ports. Although these facts barely arise one from another, Ukraine can take advantage of the actual situation. Mind found out how exactly.
For whom and for what does the White House allocate funds?
$200 million more will be channelled through the United States Department of Agriculture for programmes related to children’s catering at schools in Africa and East Asia countries; the same amount will be used for promoting eco-friendly agricultural projects.
Why is it now when the decision for announcement was made?
The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Director-General Qu Dongyu has also confirmed that the issue of hunger has been escalating. According to him, the world is at risk of facing a food access crisis in the coming months, and “hunger levels are unacceptably high.”
What does Ukraine have to do with all this?
Prolonging Ukraine's grain deal is one of the factors that could prevent the increase of hunger. And this fact is now indubitable for the world political elites.
“The US will insist on extending the validity of the agreement between russia and Ukraine concluded with the mediation of the UN and Turkey, which allows the export of grain and other agricultural products from the Black Sea ports,” said the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. According to him, “the [Istanbul] deal needs to be renewed… [this] is an urgent task.”
It should be reminded that russia’s president vladimir putin stated recently that russia may quit the deal because, as far as he knows, grain is shipped from Odesa not to the poorest African countries as it was stipulated for, but to the thriving EU. That these claims were invalid, Mind wrote here.
The kremlin’s official position is that hunger is fueled by antis-russian sanctions of the West, precisely those against exporting fertilisers.
Ukraine has actively exploited the capabilities of the sea grain corridor, which was opened in August. And keeping it means critically for the agricultural industry and the economy in general. September was the first month since the start of the war when over 1 billion tonnes of wheat was exported, commented the Ministry of the Economy.
“As of 21 September, we have exported 1.11 million tonnes of wheat. The overall export in the last three week of September was 6.47 million tonnes (including 1.38 million tonees of corn, 1.11 tonnes of wheat, 562,000 tonnes of rape, 338,000 tonnes of seed-oil, 275,000 tonnes of barley,” said the Ukrainian trade representative Taras Kachka.
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