Food Crisis: AU applauds Russia-Ukraine grain deal easing exports to global markets but….

*The latest grain deal agreement between Russia and Ukraine should allow Kyiv to resume exports of grains through the Black Sea towards easing off a global food crisis, but the Russian strikes hit the Odessa Port in the city hours after the agreement was struck, creating doubt over faithful implementation

Alexander Davis | ConsumerConnect

In a move to relieve the current global food crisis with timely intervention in the recent distortion in the  supply chain resulting from the Russian-Ukraine war, the African Union (AU) Saturday, July 23, 2022, commended a landmark deal between the two countries.

ConsumerConnect gathered the agreement between Russia and Ukraine would allow Kyiv to resume exports of grain through the Black Sea and relieve a global food crisis.

Report indicates Ukraine’s farms are a major source of grain for the world market, in particular in the Middle East and Africa, where food supplies are critically tight as of now.

A grain processing plant in Ukraine

Cereal prices in the world’s poorest continent have surged because of the slump in exports, sharpening the impact of conflict and climate change and sparking fears of social unrest, agency report also said.

The continental body, AU in a statement, said: “The Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat welcomes the signing by Russia and Ukraine of agreements.”

The statement also noted the AU applauded Senegalese leader and AU Chairman Macky Sall “for having called for the urgent need for the resumption of cereals from Ukraine and Russia to global markets as made to President Vladimir Putin during a joint AU mission to Sochi” in early June this year.

Although Ukraine and Russia are two of the world’s largest grain producers, Ukrainian mines laid across the Black Sea to avert an amphibious assault from the latter as well as Russian warships, have blocked exports from Ukraine.

This situation has left about 25 million tonnes of wheat and other grains in danger of rotting in ports and silos, agency report said.

Sall also thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who supervised the signing ceremony, as well as Presidents Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine Friday, July 22, in Istanbul, Turkey.

Sall further tweeted: “This was the objective of the mission I led in Sochi on June 3.”

The International Rescue Committee, which helps people affected by humanitarian crises, also welcomed the accord, saying countries in East Africa relied “on Russia and Ukraine for over 90 percent of their wheat imports.”

Shashwat Saraf, IRC’s East Africa Emergency Director, said: “The lifting of these blockades will go some way in easing the extreme hunger that over 18 million people in East Africa are facing, with three million already facing catastrophic hunger conditions.”

Uncertainty as Russian strikes hit Odessa Port after grain deal

In a related development, Russian missiles hit Ukraine’s port of Odessa Saturday, July 23 in what Kyiv called a “spit in the face” of a day-old deal between the warring sides to resume cereal exports blocked by the conflict.

The Ukrainian military said its air defences had shot down two cruise missiles, but two more hit the port, threatening the landmark agreement struck, following months of negotiations.

The objective of the grain deal is to relieve the current global food crisis.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Spokesman said the strike was “a spit in the face” by Russian leader Vladimir Putin against the deal brokered by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, reports AFP.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also claimed the strikes on Odessa indicated that Moscow (in Russia) could not keep its promises.

A statement from the Presidency noted Zelensky  during a meeting with US lawmakers, said: “This proves only one thing: no matter what Russia says and promises, it will find ways not to implement it.”

Odessa is one of three export hubs designated in the recent agreement, and Ukrainian officials said grain was being stored in the port at the time of the strike although the food stocks did not appear to have been hit, report said.

Guterres, who presided over the signing ceremony Friday, “unequivocally” condemned the attack at Odessa, his Deputy Spokesman said, and urged all sides stick to the deal.

The UN Chief added: “These products are desperately needed to address the global food crisis and ease the suffering of millions of people in need around the globe.”

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