Máximo TORERO, FAO's Chief Economist, is invited to discuss the situation of global food markets with MEPs from the AGRI (Agricultral and Rural Development) Committee in the European Parliament, in the presence of Members from the Ukrainian Parliament.

Situation of global food markets - Exchange of views with Máximo TORERO, FAO’s Chief Econmist - AGRI Committee: extracts

SOUNDBITE (German), Norbert LINS (EPP, DE), Chair, First of all, I'd like to welcome in the name of all of our colleagues, I'd like to welcome all of our colleagues from the Ukrainian parliament. It's a great honour and a great pleasure to have you with us here today. 

SOUNDBITE (English), M&#225;ximo TORERO , FAO&#8217;s Chief Economist, The way FAO it is looking at the problem is essentially in three major types of risks for global food security. These arrive from the direct effect of the conflict upon global food and agriculture and those related to the macroand rotating factors and those related to the humanitarian crisis.

SOUNDBITE (English), M&aacute;ximo TORERO, FAO&rsquo;s Chief Economist, Ukraine and the Russian Federation have thirty percent of the cereals in the world, and therefore any effect on the way they operate what they produce will affect production. And will have a correlating crises.

SOUNDBITE (English), M&aacute;ximo TORERO, FAO&rsquo;s Chief Economist, The impact of current crisis was significantly for wheat importing countries, which were highly concentrated on Ukraine and Russian Federation. Countries that heavily rely on the wheat imports are Turkey and Egypt, but also a number of sub-Saharan countries, including Eritrea, Somalia, Madagascar, Tanzania and Congo.

SOUNDBITE (English), M&aacute;ximo TORERO, FAO&rsquo;s Chief Economist, Now, one of the most important issues that we are really concerned about and which affect the next season is the issue of fertilisers. So fertiliser prices have also increased significantly and fertilisers' affordability is shown on the red line and you see how the affordability is declining despite of the increasing prices of the commodities. Which means that the inputs for fertilisers, gas especially, are growing at a higher rate than the increasing prices. So this is creating a significant constraint in the access to fertilisers in addition to the export restriction from Russian Federation to fertilisers to the war.

SOUNDBITE (English), Yuliia OVCHYNNYKOVA, Member of Ukrainian Parliament, Last year, Ukraine harvested eighty five million tonnes of grain but cannot make timely export use due to the blockade of ports by the war aggressor.

SOUNDBITE (English), Yuliia OVCHYNNYKOVA, Member of Ukrainian Parliament, And also I want to add that at this moment, the occupiers continue to steal Ukrainian grain. The losses of farmers reach at least one hundred twenty five million dollars, almost all ships with grain, leaving the temporary occupied Sevastopol are transported illegally, stolen Ukrainians crane. 

SOUNDBITE (English), Larysa BILOZIR, Member of Ukrainian Parliament, So in connexion with the war, the culture industry faces a number of challenges that Ukraine will be able to overcome only with the participation of European partners. I want to say again a big thanks for support, for this action plan. And I ask to make it faster to invest more money to help with this customs points, because, for example, in Romania we have the big border, 400 kilometres, but only five customs points and very old. So we need to build these custom points. We need to to work for people there, to work all day long to make more points.

SOUNDBITE (English), Larysa BILOZIR, Member of Ukrainian Parliament, We need an exception from EU transport requirements to do the transit via Poland, via Lithuanian ports, and additionally via Bulgaria ports as well, not only through Romania, but as according to the need. So, again, thank you very much. I have so much to tell. Thank you for being not brief. Thank you for support and I hope we will win this war and the export of cultural products will flow from Ukraine and it will normalise food security system.

Situation of global food markets - Exchange of views with Máximo TORERO, FAO’s Chief Econmist - AGRI Committee: extracts

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Food security

Russian aggression against Ukraine

EU - Ukraine

AGRI - Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development