Britain’s ministry of defence has predicted that Ukrainian food exports will fall by nearly two-thirds this year.
It is unlikely that Ukrainian food exports will breach 35 per cent of the amount sent abroad last year, a report by Britain’s Ministry of Defence has predicted.
The UK government department has also continued to claim that the seismic drop in Ukrainian exports due to the ongoing conflict in the country is ultimately the fault of invading power, Russia. According to a post on the ministry’s social media, the conflict in the Eastern European country has continued to cause problems for harvesting, with supplies both in and out of the country impacted.
“With harvest underway, Russia’s invasion continues to have a devastating impact on Ukraine’s agricultural sector,” the UK department wrote online on Monday.
“The war has caused major disruption to the supply chains of seed and fertiliser which Ukrainian farmers rely on,” it continued. “Russia’s blockade of Odesa continues to severely constrain Ukraine’s grain exports. Because of this, Ukraine’s agricultural exports in 2022 are unlikely to be more than 35% of the 2021 total.”
The online defence intelligence update posted by the ministry also took time to specifically blame Russia for ongoing problems with Ukrainian food exports, with the department noting Russia is the main reason why exports are not leaving the country. This assertion challenges Russia’s own recent implication they are no longer standing in the way of grain ships leaving.
“Following its retreat from the Black Sea outpost of Snake Island, Russia misleadingly claimed that ‘the ball is now in Ukraine’s court’ in relation to improving grain exports,” the report reads.
“In reality, it is Russia’s disruption of Ukraine’s agricultural sector which continues to exacerbate the global food crisis,” it goes on to claim.
The claim echoes those previously made by other European powers, who begged countries in Africa last month to not blame the West for the ongoing food difficulties they are facing as a result of the war.
However, according to the chairman of the African Union, Macky Sall, this begging has somewhat fallen on deaf ears, with the political leader telling his EU counterparts during a meeting that the notion that rampant food security in Africa is the West fault is “out there”, with many on the continent finding the issue “very serious and alarming”.
To make matters worse, Sall followed up his meeting with EU leaders by parleying with Vladimir Putin, claiming the Russian President was willing to work with him to alleviate ongoing issues revolving around food in the region.
“President Putin expressed to us his readiness to facilitate the export of Ukrainian cereals,” Sall wrote on social media after his meeting with Putin.
“Russia is ready to ensure the export of its wheat and fertilizer,” he continued. “I call on all partners to lift sanctions on wheat and fertilizer.”