World meat industry news

There are no countries in the world that could replace food supplies from Russia and Ukraine in the short term, Oleg Kobyakov, Director of the FAO Office for Russia, said.

"In the short term, there are no such countries. If we talk about the share occupied by Russia and Ukraine in the world grain market, it exceeds 30%. Russia exported 35 million tons last year, Ukraine - about 12 million. Over 50 countries depend on supplies from the Black Sea basin by more than 30%. According to economists, dependence by 30% is a critical threshold. Interruptions in food supplies and a sharp increase in food prices threaten crises in the national economy and civil unrest," Kobyakov said.

He noted that there are countries that, in fact, receive all their food grains and feed grains from Russia and Ukraine. For example, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Mongolia cover their needs by 100% with grain supplies from Russia. Of the African countries, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Congo, Namibia, Rwanda and Togo are highly dependent on Russian grain imports. The countries that rely most on the purchase of both Ukrainian and Russian grain are Ghana, Israel, Iran, Jordan, Kenya, Libya, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia, Ethiopia.

According to Kobyakov, in early May, the FAO, the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the World Food Program released a joint report, "which says that today 570,000 people are in the zone of critical hunger, on the verge of starvation - these are residents of countries such as Yemen, Madagascar, Ethiopia - they get grain from Russia and Ukraine."

"Let's get back to the question of whether someone could replace supplies from Russia and Ukraine. Look, even India, which began to trade in surpluses of its wheat, quickly caught on and introduced restrictions, because otherwise it would not have enough grain to meet its own needs. Therefore, it is necessary to unblock both Ukrainian and Russian exports - after all, Novorossiysk Commercial Port, the main Russian export grain terminal, fell under the sanctions, money transfers are difficult due to anti-Russian sanctions, it is almost impossible to charter a ship, and if you charter it, few insurers will risk insure the cargo or the ship itself," he explained.