Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin's address at the 11th International Meeting of High Representatives for Security Issues, Moscow, May 25, 2023
26 May 2023 00:47
1010-26-05-2023
Ensuring global food security
I am delighted to welcome the participants and guests to the 11th International Meeting of High Representatives for Security Issues.
I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on the undoubtedly important and relevant issue of global food security.
The collective West is continuing its disinformation campaign designed to blame Russia for the current crisis in the global food market. Russia has been blamed, without any substantiation, for the coming global hunger crisis against the backdrop of global food, fertiliser and energy price growth and the malfunctioning of the international financial system, allegedly because of the special military operation in Ukraine.
However, it is no secret that the international expert community has openly and frankly blamed the current food crisis on the macroeconomic imbalances, systemic errors and blunders of the largest Western countries, which habitually solve their problems through uncontrolled money creation. The climate disasters, the Covid-19 pandemic and the accelerated renewable energy transition have aggravated all these negative trends.
For example, FAO experts have pointed out that food prices started growing long before the special military operation in Ukraine. Overall, basic agrifood prices in 2022 and 2021 are comparable, which negates the allegation that the crisis in Ukraine is fuelling inflation and Russia is to blame for the growing volatility of the global food markets.
On the other hand, it is obvious that the illegal unilateral sanctions adopted by the collective West against Russia have seriously unbalanced global markets. Systemic restrictions have affected all economic operators and have disrupted traditional financial and logistics links and supply chains. As a result, transport channels for the delivery of Russian fertilisers and foods have been blocked, banking establishments have been paralysed, and insurance and reinsurance transactions have become inaccessible. A number of international experts, including from the concerned organisations such as the WFP, the WHO, UNICEF and the UN Economic Commission for Europe, have recognised the negative effect of the unilateral sanctions on food security. They have pointed out that restrictions on food, fertiliser and fuel exports have hiked up food prices in all countries and regions around the world without exception.
While accusing Russia of provoking famine without proof, the Americans and Europeans are not only strongly rejecting any indications of the destructive impact of their sanctions, but are also carefully sidestepping the fact that the rising prices of food and fertilisers and the unstable supplies of these goods to world markets benefits the largest Western agricultural corporations, in particular, the so-called big four. The American producers Archer Daniels Midland, Bunge and Cargill, and the Dutch Louis Dreyfus account for 75 to 90 percent of global agricultural trade. In 2022, these companies made record profits speculating on the artificially-induced panic about possible shortages, as well as inflation. At the same time, Western countries are not hiding their intentions to acquire raw produce for a pittance for its further processing and marketing as finished goods with a high value added. In fact, they are using developing countries as a source of cheap raw materials to maintain the profitability of the Western manufacturing industry.
The way the so-called grain deal was implemented is a good example of how the Europeans and Americans are profiteering on the needs of the poorest countries. The well-known package deal proposed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and signed in Istanbul on July 22, 2022 consists of two interrelated agreements - the Black Sea Initiative on the export of Ukrainian food and Russian ammonia and the Russia-UN Memorandum on the normalisation of Russian agricultural exports. On paper, this package was allegedly aimed at reducing threats to food security and providing assistance to needy countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. In fact, it turned out to be a screen for the commercial export of Ukrainian grain to well-fed countries, with more super-profits for the earlier mentioned Western corporations that have bought all the Ukrainian arable land.
Since August 1, 2022, a total of more than 30.3 million tonnes of grain have been exported from the ports of Odessa, Yuzhny and Chernomorsk. The lion's share of the goods (80 percent) went to high-income and above-middle-income countries, including in the EU (about 40 percent). The poorest states (Ethiopia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Sudan and Somalia) accounted for only 722,000 tonnes or 2.5 percent of the total. This, however, does not prevent Western countries, with the support of the UN, from hypocritically grandstanding for global food security, issuing famine warnings and insisting that their sanctions do not apply to food and fertilisers.
The reality is this: the text of the Black Sea Initiative does not include a word about these noble goals, while the Russia-UN Memorandum contains several detailed passages on this score. This, however, does not stop the United States, the EU and the United Kingdom from introducing new sanctions against Russian agricultural exports and, in general, methodically sabotaging the implementation of the second part of the package deal - the Russia-UN Memorandum. As a result, Russian companies are struggling with multiplying obstacles in banking, insurance and logistics, and the implications of personal restrictions against the owners of manufacturing companies. The countries that are in need of Russian fertilisers and food have to shoulder the price of these restrictions and suffer from shortages of necessary products.
An excellent example of the Western blockade of Russian agricultural exports is the free delivery of Russian fertilisers (262,000 tonnes) to the poorest countries, which have been stuck in the ports of Latvia, Estonia, Belgium and the Netherlands. Since September 2022, only one batch of 20,000 tonnes has reached the recipients in Malawi. A second batch of 34,000 tonnes is on its way to Kenya, and another 34,000 tonnes for Nigeria are waiting for dispatch. This is taking place although it is a purely humanitarian action that should not be subject to any restrictions, and all shipping and transportation costs are being covered by Russia.
The logical conclusion is that the package deal proposed by Antonio Guterres and signed in Istanbul is ineffective. Not only the Russia-UN Memorandum but also the provision on Russian ammonia supplies stipulated in both agreements, including from the port of Yuzhny under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, are being disregarded. The proclaimed humanitarian mission of the initiative itself has been fully and irreversibly discredited.
In these circumstances, we have agreed to extend the Black Sea Grain Initiative until the end of the agreed 120-day cycle, that is, until July 17 inclusively, as an emergency measure and in response to an appeal from the Turkish authorities. We pointed out again that the extension, let alone expansion, of the initiative was out of the question until substantial progress was made in resolving the five systemic problems hindering Russian agricultural exports, namely, Rosselkhozbank's reconnection to SWIFT; the resumption of farm machinery, spare parts and maintenance equipment deliveries; the lifting of insurance and re-insurance restrictions and the port access ban; the relaunching of the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline; and the unblocking of Russian companies' foreign assets and accounts.
It should be said that the Russian foreign policy priorities set out in the updated Foreign Policy Concept include ensuring "equitable access for all states to the benefits of the global economy and division of labour at the international level, as well as to modern technology in the interest of fair and even development (including addressing global energy and food security)."
Russia has always been not only one of the key suppliers of agricultural products in the world, but also continues to responsibly and conscientiously fulfil its international obligations to export farm products, fertilisers, energy and other critical goods. We are well aware of the importance of socially significant supplies, including food, which are crucial for the integrated development of many countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East, and their successful achievement of food security and sustainable development goals.
It is gratifying that Russian agriculture is showing a steady positive trend. As the video rightly noted, our country has all the necessary infrastructure and potential to meet our foreign partners' growing demand for agricultural products and fertilisers.
Last year, Russia's grain harvest reached a record high of almost 158 million tonnes, an absolute record for all past decades. Russia is self-sufficient when it comes to almost all key products. In recent years, our country has also significantly increased the production of all types of mineral fertilisers to 55 million tonnes, which makes it one of the world's largest exporters. It is obvious that Russian agriculture has become a high-tech industry that can achieve such impressive results.
This, in turn, makes Russia a reliable and effective partner. Despite the sanctions, barriers and restrictions, we continue working to maintain our export potential, including by redirecting exports to friendly countries, primarily in Asia and Africa. Again, the main factor holding back Russia's agricultural exports is the blocking effect of unilateral Western sanctions, which have led to significant financial difficulties with the payment of goods, freezing of accounts, and logistical limitations due to higher prices of freight and insurance.
In this regard, and in the current conditions, we believe it is essential to support Russian agricultural producers and suppliers' efforts to ensure the uninterrupted supply of these vital goods to world markets. In addition, we will continue our efforts to achieve the lifting of sanctions on Russian fertilisers and food, and their uninterrupted export in the interests of global food security, protecting the interests of our partners from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.
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