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Ukrainian Farms Battered by War, While China Faces Production Issues Stoking Food Security Fears - Farm Policy News
Emma Bubola, Valeriya Safronova and Maria Varenikova reported in today's New York Times that, "In the past six weeks, Russian shells have destroyed Ukrainian cities, homes, hospitals and schools. But the war has also reached deep into the fertile plains of a region known as Europe’s breadbasket...
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“Ukraine has already lost at least $1.5 billion in grain exports since the war began, the country’s deputy agriculture minister said recently. And the economic fallout from the war has also disrupted supplies from Russia, the world’s leading grain exporter.”
Today’s article explained that, “In Ukraine, warehouses are filled with grain that cannot be exported. Russia has blocked access to the Black Sea, Ukraine’s main export route, cargo trains face logistical hurdles, and trucking is stymied because most truck drivers are men aged 18 to 60 who are not allowed to leave the country and cannot drive agricultural exports across the border.
“Ukraine has also banned some grain exports to ensure that it has enough food to feed its people.
“On Tuesday, the Agriculture Ministry said that six large granaries had been destroyed by Russian shelling. Farmers say they face shortages of fuel and fertilizer, and that some of their workers have gone to the battlefield.”
Bubola, Safronova and Varenikova also pointed out that, “Farmers also worry whether they will be able to sow crops this spring, putting next season’s crops at risk. On Thursday, Ukraine’s prime minister, Denis Shmygal, said that the government expected a 20 percent decrease in crops to be sown this spring.
“Russian forces have mined some farmland, blown up machines and destroyed fuel reserves, an effort, Ukrainian authorities say, to disrupt planting.”
and...
In other developments, Bloomberg writer Alfred Cang reported yesterday that, “Chinese farmers in the country’s most important region for corn, soybeans and rice are facing a myriad of challenges as the spring planting season kicks off, endangering the nation’s ability to secure enough grains for this year.
“Already hit by soaring fertilizer and fuel costs, growers in some areas of the northeast have had to contend with strict Covid curbs that prevent them from plowing their fields and sowing seeds. The region produces more than a fifth of China’s national grain output.”
