World meat industry news

Russia accounts for up to 20% of global food supplies to starving countries

Russian suppliers to the World Food Program (WFP) faced restrictions in their access to food supply tenders. One of the market participants who collaborated with the organization told RBC about this. The information was confirmed by the Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the WFP, FAO and IFAD in Rome, Dilyara Ravilova-Borovik. Under this program, food is purchased and distributed to countries in need as humanitarian aid.

WFP is the largest humanitarian organization in the world. It operates in 120 countries around the world and delivers food to people in need. The company's activities are financed by voluntary contributions from donors - governments, corporations, and individuals. In 2022, the total contribution was $14.2 billion, with the largest donors being the United States ($7.2 billion), Germany ($1.7 billion) and the EU ($698.2 million).

In recent years, Russian food - peas, flour and sunflower oil - accounted for up to 20% of all external supplies of the UN WFP, according to an RBC interlocutor from the organization's partners. The high share is explained by the price: Russian goods were 10-15% cheaper than competitors, he explained. The main recipients of Russian food were Syria, Sudan, Afghanistan, Palestine and the countries of Central Asia.

But recently, under various pretexts, access to Russian food has been severely limited. “In recent months, it has become the norm that goods of Russian origin - and we are required to indicate this in the tender application - are in principle not allowed,” says Dmitry Sukhov, head of the humanitarian support department of Abakan Air, the largest Russian supplier of WFP to the UN. Invitations to some tenders have stopped coming, there are quality claims made after the fact, although the goods were checked at every stage by WFP inspectors, he said.

Notifications about tenders stopped coming because a number of donors, when transferring funds to WFP, indicate that their funds cannot be used to purchase food in Russia or purchased from Russian companies, Ravilova-Borovik said. “WFP becomes a hostage to the situation and an instrument in the hands of a certain number of donors who <...> are ready to sacrifice the lives of people in countries in need <...>. [Because of this] the organization will be able to feed and save fewer people,” she explained. Ravilova-Borovik did not specify which categories of donors and which countries they are from.

The restrictions imposed by the WFP will not benefit countries where it is necessary to feed the hungry - Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, etc., says Ravilova-Borovik. While Russian food will still find its buyers, she believes.