Russia’s decision to end Black Sea grain deal may bring Africa to the brink again

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday said he regretted Russia’s decision to withdraw from the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

“I deeply regret the decision by the Russian Federation to terminate the implementation of the Black Sea Initiative, including the withdrawal of Russian security guarantees for navigation in the northwestern part of the Black Sea,” Guterres said.

The Black Sea grains deal, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in July 2022, helped bring down global food prices and allowed aid agencies to access hundreds of thousands of tonnes of food at a time of rising needs and scarce funding.

The deal unlocked millions of tons of desperately-needed grain and other foods that would otherwise be stuck in Ukraine. The Black Sea Grain Initiative helps people in need across the globe by directly delivering desperately-needed grains to lower-income countries and bringing down food prices. 

Since the first ship went out on August 1, over 380 ships have departed to some 37 countries, transporting over 8.6 million tons of cargo carrying life-saving food exports from Ukraine ports.

So far, more than 2 million metric tons of food have been exported directly to countries most vulnerable to severe hunger, like Kenya, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Yemen, Ethiopia, and Somalia.

Over 1 million metric tons of wheat have been shipped from Ukraine to low and lower-middle income countries through the Black Sea Grain Initiative. That is the equivalent of nearly 3 billion loaves of bread.

“Ultimately, participation in these agreements is a choice. But struggling people everywhere and developing countries don’t have a choice. Hundreds of millions of people face hunger and consumers are confronting a global cost-of-living crisis. They will pay the price,” said Guterres, noting that there was already a jump in wheat prices immediately after the announcement of the Russian decision.

“Unfortunately, the part of these Black Sea agreements that concerns Russia has not been implemented so far, so its effect is terminated,” local media reported, citing Peskov. Russia had been complaining that its demands to improve its own grain and fertilizer exports have not been met.

Peskov noted that the country will immediately return to the deal when the Russian part of the agreements is fulfilled.

Guterres on Monday pledged to continue to facilitate food and fertilizer exports from Ukraine and Russia despite the Russian decision.

“Today’s decision by the Russian Federation will strike a blow to people in need everywhere. But it will not stop our efforts to facilitate the unimpeded access to global markets for food products and fertilizers from both Ukraine and the Russian Federation,” he said. “Looking ahead, our goal must continue to be advancing global food security and global food price stability. This will remain the focus of my efforts, taking into account the rise in human suffering that will inevitably result from today’s decision. We will stay fixed on finding pathways for solutions. There is simply too much at stake in a hungry and hurting world.”

Guterres said he was “deeply disappointed” that his proposal for the renewal of the Black Sea grain deal went unheeded.

“I am aware of some obstacles that remained in the foreign trade of Russian food and fertilizer products. That is precisely why I sent a letter to (Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin with a new proposal to keep the Black Sea Initiative alive,” said Guterres.

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