Greenfield: Guterres discusses allowing Ukraine to export grain shipments to the world market

The US envoy to the United Nations, Linda Thomas Greenfield, said that the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, discussed with Washington a proposal to ease restrictions on Russian potassium exports, in exchange for allowing the opening of corridors in the Sea of ​​Azov for the exit of Ukrainian shipments of grain to the world market.
Washington – Sputnik. In statements to reporters, Greenfield said that Guterres spoke about this with the Ukrainians as well, and indicated, “We support all efforts to find mechanisms for the return of Ukrainian grain to the market.”
Wheat prices hit a record high today, Monday, after India imposed a ban on its exports of the basic commodity, after the crop was affected by a heat wave.
The price of wheat hit a record in the European market, closing at 438.25 euros per ton after India announced a ban on grain exports. According to Agence France-Presse”.
Global wheat prices rose on the back of supply concerns since the launch of the Russian military operation in February in Ukraine, a wheat-growing stronghold that provided 12% of global exports.
The rise, exacerbated by a shortage of fertilizer and poor harvests, has fueled global inflation and raised fears of famine and social unrest in poor countries.
On Saturday, India banned wheat exports after production was hit by a heat wave in March, in a blow to countries struggling with tight supplies and rising prices.
The Indian decision was met with sharp criticism from the agriculture ministers of the Group of Seven countries during a meeting in Germany, considering that such measures will “exacerbate the crisis” of high commodity prices.
And last week, satellite images showed that the next wheat harvest in Ukraine will decline by at least 35 percent from what it was in 2021.
Based on these images, Ukraine will be able, under the current situation, to produce 21 million tons of wheat in 2022, 12 million tons less than the 2021 crop, with yields down 23 percent from the average of the last five years.
This portends a deterioration of the situation in countries that depend on Russian and Ukrainian grain imports, such as Somalia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Africa, especially since Russia and Ukraine provide 30% of the world’s grain imports.