Grain supply to MENA on steady rise, US & EU impeding price reduction
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Sanctions are increasing freight costs and obstructed logistics, but they are not putting a clog on Russian wheat export.
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Farmers harvesting wheat in Russia. (Bloomberg)
Despite the West's isolation measures and sanctions waged against Russia, supplies of Russian grain to countries in the region never stopped; in fact, they have been on a steady increase as of recent to the Middle East, according to Alexander Kinschak, the head of the Russian foreign ministry's Middle East and North Africa department, to Sputnik.
"Thanks to the timely measures taken jointly with our partners in the region, the supply of Russian grain to the countries of the Middle East and North Africa was actually not interrupted," Kinschak said, adding that there has been a "steady upward trend" in grain trade.
"Export mechanism has to be adjusted" to curb the West-led sanctions, according to the Russian official, adding that "some of them are still being reconfigured."
Sanctions targeting Russian banks and financial establishments complicated logistics, said Kinschak, triggering a steep increase in the cost of freight.
See more: The global wheat supply crisis
The United States, as well as Europe, are standing in the way of bringing down food prices on the world market in their quest to attempt and isolate Russia from international markets, keeping in mind that Russia is one of the world's largest exporters of grain and wheat, alongside Ukraine.
Kinschak asserted that Washington and the EU do not want to lift restrictions on Russian exports, effectively preventing the reduction in food prices on the world market.
He said that Russia, nonetheless, will continue to fulfill its commitments to supply food to Africa and the Middle East despite the sanctions. However, for the situation to go back to normal, the removal of all transport and insurance restrictions on Russian exports is necessary, in addition to ensuring free payments.
"So far, the Americans and Europeans do not want to do this, preventing the saturation of the global food market and lower prices. At the same time, they continue to ... [spread misinformation] that Russia provoked 'global hunger,'" Kinschak said.
Three weeks ago, the United Nations-chartered ship MV Brave Commander was set to leave Ukraine for Africa after loading more than 23,0000 tons of wheat in the Pivdennyi port in Ukraine, a UN official said.
The ship set sail to Ethiopia via a grain corridor through the Black Sea brokered by Turkey and the United Nations in late July.
It was considered the first humanitarian food aid cargo sent to Africa since the start of the war in Ukraine under the framework of the Black Sea Grain deal.
In June, a report by Politico wrote that the US will not lift sanctions against Russia in order to assist with grain exports from Ukraine, with Washington rejecting any grain export agreement that includes easing sanctions on Russia
