G7 ministers support expanding, extending 'important' grain deal

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
23 Apr 2023 09:41

The agriculture ministers agree on the importance of the Black Sea Giran Initiative and call for its full implementation.

The G7 Climate, Energy, and Environment Ministers in Japan on April 15, 2023 (Reuters)

Agriculture ministers of the G7 member states consider that the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which was agreed on between Russia and Ukraine and was brokered by the UN and Turkey, is vital to the "EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes" and announced their support to extending and expanding the deal.

"We recognize the importance of the EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes, [Ukrainian] President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy’s Grain from Ukraine Initiative and the UN and Türkiye-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI). In this context, we strongly support the extension, full implementation and expansion of BSGI," the ministers said in a statement.

Meanwhile, they accused Moscow of using food "as a means of destabilization and as tool of geopolitical coercion."

"We will continue to design our restrictive measures against Russia to shield population in need from unintended consequences by ensuring food and fertilizers are carved out," the statement read.

The officials stated that diversifying international and regional supply chains of agricultural products is important for all countries in their effort to improve the long-term sustainability of the supplies.

"We emphasize the importance of diversifying international, regional, and local supply chains of agricultural products and inputs in order to improve their resilience and sustainability in the long term. We recognize that most countries currently rely on both domestic production and international trade for their food supply," the statement said.

In the document, the agriculture ministers also reaffirmed their commitment to "fair, open, transparent, predictable, non-discriminatory and rules-based trade."

The grain export deal has helped ease the global food crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine and the Western sanctions against Russia.

According to the United Nations, more than 24.1 million tonnes of grain have been exported under the agreement until March.

In October 2022, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) revealed that only a quarter of the grain exported under the BSGI is going to low-income countries.

"Now, the concern again, is that despite these bigger food availabilities, still only around 25 to 26% of the grain ... is going to low-income countries," an FAO statement said then.

In November 2022, the executive director of the World Food Programme (WFP) David Beasley stressed that all nations must cooperate in implementing the grain deal since the world needs Russian grain and fertilizers, whether other countries "love or hate Russia."

"This deal is crucial. Everybody has to cooperate, everybody has a role to play here. I don't care whether you love or hate Russia, we need Russian grain and fertilizer around the world. Otherwise, a whole world will pay a price," he said then.