A combine harvesting picks up the wheat on a field near the Krasne village, in the Chernihiv area, 120 km north of Kyiv, in 2019. © Anatolii Stepanov, AFP (file photo)
DW: Ukraine war: Russia blocks ships carrying grain exports
Up to 300 ships have been stopped by Russian forces from departing the Black Sea, leaving one of the key global trade routes for grain virtually blocked.
The fertile region is known as "the world's breadbasket." Wheat exports from Ukraine and Russia, which make up a vital part of the world's food supply are still being blocked by Russia from leaving the Black Sea, Germany's largest agricultural trader BayWa said this week.
"Zero [grain] is currently being exported from the ports of Ukraine — nothing is leaving the country at all," Jörg-Simon Immerz, head of the grain trading at BayWa, told dpa news agency.
He added that the export activity on the Russian side is "very limited." Immerz's assessment was backed up by the Panamanian Maritime Authority, who said on Wednesday that the Russian Navy was preventing 200-300 ships from leaving the Black Sea — most of them were carrying grain. Other reports suggest around 100 vessels are blocked.
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Update #1: War in Ukraine sparks concerns over worldwide food shortages (France 24)
Update #2: Ukraine war is causing a commodities ‘super cycle’ and likely global food crisis (Responsible Statecraft)
WNU Editor: If this war continues I can foresee a situation where global grain shipments will be diverted from those who are hungry to those who are starving.