US 'working closely' with Europe to ensure export of vital food grains out of Ukraine

The United States President Joe Biden's administration is working with its European allies to develop routes that would ensure the transport of wheat and corn out of the war-torn country after Russia blocked the Ukrainian ships from departing with grain that is crucial for food supplies across the world, especially to Africa and the Middle East. At least two US diplomats and four European diplomats told CNN that there is no silver bullet to tackle the complicated channel pertaining to wheat and corn supplies. As per the report, the officials are considering a range of options to get the food exports safely either by rail, sea or air. Additionally, possible scenarios are also being studied and devised whether Russia consents to the same or not. 

The export of food would be one of the major focuses of United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken when he would convene a ministerial meeting on food security and chair a discussion on the matter at the United Nations (UN) in New York on Wednesday and Thursday, the diplomats reportedly revealed. One official, familiar with the discussions, told the US media outlet, “This is far from a done deal. There are so many moving pieces, so many things could go wrong with these discussions”.

Ever since Russia announced its ‘special’ military operation in Ukraine on February 24, the conflict sparked concerns about global food shortage, and urgency around the effort as prices for wheat, grain, corn, soybeans and vegetable oil have soared. According to the report, there is no simple solution available to the said problem as major obstacles cloud all modes of transport with the Russia-Ukraine war not showing any signs of de-escalation. 

WFP: Ukraine to run out of storage facilities in next 2 months

An official from the World Food Program (WFP) explained that the time is of the essence as Ukraine is set to run out of storage facilities or agricultural products in the next two months. It is to note that if there is no movement of food exports in the upcoming months, Ukrainian farmers will have no place to store next season’s crop and they will not be paid enough to sustain their businesses. As per the report, prior to the Russia-Ukraine war, the wheat supplies from Russia and Ukraine made up for about 30% of global trade. Ukraine is also the world’s fourth-largest exporter of corm and fifth-largest exporter of wheat, as per the US State Department. 

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