A harvester harvests wheat at a wheat field in Xiaotian village, Huanglou Street, Qingzhou city, East China’s Shandong province, June 8, 2023.
Costfoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images
WASHINGTON — America and its Western allies wish to China to assist resolve the calamitous domino effect of Russia’s exit from a vital U.N.-backed agriculture deal.
China, one in all Moscow’s most strategic allies and the world’s second-largest economy, was the indisputable top recipient of Ukrainian agricultural products under the landmark agreement often called the Black Sea Grain Initiative. After nearly a 12 months in place, Russia ditched the pact last month, citing frustrations that the deal only benefited Ukraine.
The agreement eased Russia’s naval blockade within the Black Sea and established a maritime humanitarian corridor which saw the passage of greater than 1,000 ships carrying nearly 33 million metric tons of Ukrainian wheat, barley, corn and sunflower meal.
Because the inception of the July 2022 deal, which was brokered nearly six months into Russia’s full-scale war, Chinese ports had welcomed 8 million metric tons of Ukrainian agricultural products, the lion’s share in keeping with data provided by the United Nations.
“China is the most important buyer of Ukrainian grain and so with the breakdown of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the pressures on Beijing are going to be extreme when it comes to food price inflation,” David Riedel, founding father of Riedel Research Group, said in an interview with CNBC.
“They might have been stockpiling a bit of bit ahead of the breakdown in that agreement but that is a stockpile of weeks not months,” he said. “I could be very concerned about food price inflation in China,” Riedel added.
Read more: Black Sea grain deal collapse could possibly be the catalyst for China to take stimulus motion
Zhang Jun, China’s everlasting representative to the United Nations, said the Black Sea grain deal had a “positive impact on maintaining global food security” and called for the immediate resumption of Ukrainian agriculture exports in addition to Russian fertilizer products.
“China hopes that every one relevant parties will intensify dialogue and consultation and meet one another halfway,” Zhang said during a U.N. Security Council meeting chaired by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Blinken slammed Russia’s retreat from the deal and vowed to work with allies on ways to mitigate the mounting food crisis triggered partially, by the collapse of the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
“Since Russia pulled out of the arrangement on July 17, ignoring the world’s appeals, grain prices have risen by greater than 8% around the globe,” Blinken said before the international body.
“And what has Russia’s response been to the world’s distress and outrage? Bombing Ukrainian granaries, mining port entrances, threatening to attack any vessel within the Black Sea – regardless of its flag, regardless of its cargo,” Bidens’ top diplomat added.
