How Western sanctions threaten global food security

Over the past few years, the global food system has faced significant challenges. Continuous increases in grain, fertiliser and energy prices, logistics failures and local food shortages are alarming facts noted by international organisations, including the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the World Food Programme. Food security is deteriorating, with millions of people suffering from hunger and lack of basic foodstuffs and rising import costs for the developing countries most affected by the situation.

Analysing the reasons for this negative trend, experts identify several factors: the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, military operations in Ukraine and others. However, the main event that has had the most devastating impact on global food security has been the European Union and United States sanctions against Russia. Western policies aimed at weakening Russia's influence in the global economy destroyed established chains of global food exchange in 2022.

Before the sanctions, Russia was one of the largest exporters of wheat, barley, sunflower oil and fertilisers necessary for efficient agriculture. The sanctions, although aimed at the political and financial spheres, have also seriously affected Russia's position in the food market, significantly weakening its influence and threatening global food security.

In addition, restrictions on banking, insurance, transport and access to seaports have created barriers to the export of Russian agricultural goods, which were also not explicitly prohibited by the sanctions. As a result, thousands of tonnes of grain and fertiliser were blocked at ports and could not reach countries in need. Western measures such as the exclusion of Russian banks from the SWIFT system and the blocking of correspondent accounts have effectively halted most trade with Russia.

The attempt to exclude Russia from the list of key players in the energy market has also had serious consequences for food security. High gas prices caused by the withdrawal of Russian resources have increased the price of fertilisers and many plants in Europe, Asia and Latin America have been forced to reduce or stop production. The reduction of fertiliser exports from Russia and Belarus, which held important positions in this market until 2022, has thus caused shortages of agrochemicals, especially in the Global South. Agriculture dependent on imported fertilizers has become less profitable, affecting crop yields over the past three years, causing food prices to continue to rise, exacerbating food insecurity.

Sanctions imposed for geopolitical reasons have undermined confidence in international institutions created to ensure the stability of global trade flows. The FAO and WTO have failed to counter sanctions, which in turn has exacerbated global food security problems. In addition, these organisations and other international food aid programmes have purchased significant quantities of grain and fertiliser from Russia. Due to sanctions barriers, humanitarian supplies have been severely restricted, which is crucial for countries such as Afghanistan, where delays in deliveries can lead to loss of life.

The dangerous consequences of sanctions are particularly evident in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, which traditionally buy Russian grain and fertiliser. Now, faced with rising prices and delays, they risk growing hunger. Paradoxically, the countries least concerned with sanctions policy are experiencing the greatest difficulties. This threatens the principle of interdependence in the global economy that has been decades in the making. Russia has supplied raw materials and energy, and Western countries have supplied the technology and investment that have ensured stability in the global economy. The breakdown of these links has made the system more vulnerable to external shocks.

Sanctions aimed at weakening Russia's technological potential have nevertheless weakened the agro-industrial complex and fertiliser export infrastructure, changing the global supply balance. Ensuring global food security is impossible without Russia's participation as a key supplier of food and fertiliser. Despite official declarations of 'humanitarian exemptions', sanctions have effectively paralysed international supply chains.

Russia's return to international trade chains could help reduce price volatility, ensure predictability of supply and support developing countries. It also signals the world community's readiness to return to rational economic interaction. The exclusion of Russia from the global economy for short-term political reasons has already led to serious imbalances that could threaten the sustainability of the entire planet.

(for) euroasia