Concerns over goods, especially food, have grown since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.And this has led to a global food insecurity alarm and has been reflected in various international organizations dedicated to the issue.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) It recently published a food price index prepared by this body and highlights it A new historical maximum was reached in February: 21% more than the previous year and 2.2% higher than the previous maximum, Which was achieved in February 2011.

This situation arises from Russia and Ukraine are very important actors in the international food trade And its supply chain. Both countries are important exporters of wheat, corn and sunflower oil, and to this must be added the role of Russia as a producer and exporter of fertilizers. Russia is one of the world’s leading suppliers of nitrogen, potassium and phosphate fertilizers.

As FAO noted in its recent publications, This war shook world markets At a time when food markets were already experiencing rising prices and the challenges they faced as a result of the global corovirus pandemic (COVID-19). Is a food security problem in many countries And especially for low-income countries in Africa that are dependent on food imports.

For its part, the World Trade Organization (WTO) on April 11 issued a note entitled “The Crisis in Ukraine, the Consequences of the War on International Trade and Development,” emphasizing that despite the greatest suffering and devastation. Population of Ukraine, Costs from reduced trade and production have led to rising food and energy prices around the world. Low availability of goods exported by Russia and Ukraine.

Crisis in vulnerable countries

“Poor countries are at risk of war because they spend a large portion of their income on food compared to richer countries,” the WTO said.

In this context, both organizations implemented a We call for open food and fertilizer markets And stressed The risk associated with taking unilateral measures, among which it indicates – already familiar to us – export restrictions.. This type of restriction inevitably increases price pressures on international markets and aggravates the situation of food insecurity in the world.

In particular, the restrictions applied by Argentina on wheat and maize refer to a resolution issued in December last year stating that the evidence of the sale of these products abroad should not exceed the volume of the periodically determined balance. . To these restrictions must be added the restrictions on the export of beef previously established by the government.

questions

As the FAO and the WTO do, more and more international organizations are watching closely and questioning the measures used by Argentina, such as export restrictions, and will continue to do so, especially as long as the critical context persists. We have to live in these days.

We have repeatedly heard that various officials at various international forums have emphasized Argentina’s role as a food producer to the world and highlighted the country’s potential in food production. More than 400 million people.

This time the world needs a concrete contribution, it needs our products. But, paradoxically, instead of becoming a reliable source of resources, offering our production to the world, we are part of a problem to be overcome.