The Russian war of aggression in Ukraine is also having an impact on the global agricultural markets – important grain deliveries are missing in parts of the world. The federal government is pressing for international support.
Shortly before the G7 summit in Elmau, Germany is calling for an urgent fight for global food security. “It is a hunger crisis that is looming over us like a life-threatening wave,” said Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock at an international conference of the federal government in Berlin.
In view of climate change and the consequences of the corona pandemic, around 345 million people are threatened by food shortages. “But only Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine turned a wave into a tsunami,” said the Green politician.
Due to the lack of grain exports from Ukraine as a result of the Russian war against the country, a shortage of supplies is expected in some countries, for example in Africa and Asia. Lower volumes have pushed up prices on world markets. There are international efforts to create alternative transport routes for exports from Ukraine in view of the Russian blockades of seaports in the Black Sea. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) had made it clear that the message from this Sunday’s G7 summit in Elmau should go out that the democracies of the world stand together in the fight against hunger.
Özdemir wants permanent alternative routes for grain
Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir (Greens) spoke out in favor of creating permanent alternative routes for grain exports, for example via rail and the Danube, in addition to the acute efforts to find alternative routes. This could also ensure that Ukraine is not open to blackmail after the end of the war.
As long as Russian President Vladimir Putin is in power, one has to assume that the Black Sea will not be a safe route in the long run. It would also be a signal to calm down the world markets if larger quantities could be transported away safely. At the same time, Özdemir pointed out that capacities on alternative routes are limited and expensive.
Baerbock: Necessary 44 billion only half financed
Baerbock criticized: “Russia deliberately uses hunger as a weapon of war and makes the whole world hostage.” She also called for more financial support for international aid against hunger. “More than 44 billion euros will be needed this year, which are only half financed.” Around 50 delegations had agreed to attend the conference in Berlin at short notice, and around 40 ministers had come, said Baerbock. It is not a donor conference. An important purpose of the consultations is to bring the various actors together.
Baerbock, Özdemir and Development Minister Svenja Schulze had invited. The SPD politician explained that around 400 million people worldwide would normally be supplied with food from Ukraine. In many countries, these deliveries failed to materialize, and even more countries suffered from the high world market prices as a result of the war. “As always, it’s the poorest who suffer the most.” The federal government will invest a total of around four billion euros this year to combat hunger worldwide.
It is also about avoiding the next food crisis and the one after that, explained Schulze. More cultivation of more climate-adapted varieties such as millet in developing countries, more storage capacity on site and more regional trade are needed. Özdemir spoke of Putin’s “multidimensional warfare”. It aims to defeat Ukraine, wage a hunger war against the Global South and an energy war against the EU. The message is therefore also: “We will not be intimidated by Putin. Now it’s about showing what we’re made of.”
The hunger crisis was also the subject of a G7 meeting of foreign ministers in Berlin. Four of the seven heads of department were present, three connected virtually. The G7 group of major industrialized countries also includes the USA, Canada, Great Britain, France, Italy and Japan. Germany is currently chairing and hosting the G7 summit in Schloss Elmau in Bavaria from Sunday to Tuesday.
Source: Stern
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