The statement of Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu that the Ukrainian confrontation is pushing the world into the abyss of a global food collapse was commented on by Russian economic expert Nikita Maslennikov, whose position is quoted by the Ekonomika Segodnya publication.
The head of finance and economics at the Institute of Contemporary Development declared full solidarity with the opinion of the Turkish diplomat. The cost of grain, according to Maslennikov, has been systematically growing during the last five-year plan, its peak was at the end of last year – then grain rose in price against the backdrop of a Russian special operation.
“The special operation removed Ukrainian grain from the world export market and quite thoroughly stopped Russian exports. This situation is at the center of attention of the UN all the time. In addition, it has become a subject of discussion at a high diplomatic level. Moreover, quite a lot of direct accusations against Russia have already appeared in connection with the fact that we deliberately hold back exports. Accordingly, almost every day we give explanations about this, but we did not mine the Ukrainian ports! As for us, then reduce the sanctions pressure, including on maritime cargo transportation”, the expert noted.
The first to suffer from the food collapse are the low-income countries of North Africa. Their vulnerability is explained by the inability to buy grain from other suppliers.
“It is very expensive to buy grain of the first category from other exporters, because it goes to the production of pasta,” the economist said.
However, Russia will not face a shortage of food, the expert is sure, who also noted Moscow’s significant potential in terms of increasing export opportunities for fertilizers and grain.
“As for us, we once raised, when these conversations just started, the quota for the export of fertilizers, which does not fall under the sanctions restrictions of the United States of America, and extended this quota until the end of the year. At the end of 2022, we are ready to increase exports, because our potential is estimated at 49 million tons. We must also take into account the fact that a good harvest is planned for this year. If the weather does not interfere, then about 136 million tons of grain should be harvested. Therefore, we have the opportunity to increase our export potential,” the expert summed up.
Russia has been the world’s largest supplier of wheat for the past five years. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, this year, for the first time in history, a record grain harvest can be harvested in the country.
According to experts, we can talk about more than 130 million tons, including 87 million tons of wheat.
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