Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s ports and agricultural infrastructure are disrupting global food supplies and pushing up prices, the EU Delegation to Mauritius and Seychelles said on Thursday.
About 645 million people face hunger worldwide, with market shocks reverberating beyond conflict zones, the Delegation said, cited by the European External Action Service (EEAS).
It linked current pressures on food markets to Russia’s war against Ukraine, conflict in the Middle East and the incoming El Niño weather pattern.
Ukraine supplied about 15% of the world’s corn, 10% of its wheat and 50% of its sunflower oil before Russia’s full-scale invasion, according to the statement.
Russia’s strikes on ports, shipping lanes, warehouses and inland logistics have “halved” Ukraine’s grain exports compared with last year, it added, without providing underlying figures.
The delegation said Ukraine could run out of storage by the end of October, leaving more than 9 million tonnes of grain at risk of spoiling while farmers lack funds to plant next year’s crops.
If the harvest is lost, the effects on food supplies could be felt well into 2027.
Import-dependent islands ‘highly vulnerable’
Mauritius and Seychelles are “highly vulnerable” to external shocks because both countries largely rely on imported food, the EU Delegation said.
It stated that disruptions in global supply chains and price increases linked to the war in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East inevitably affect both economies.
It added that the threat of El Niño could bring severe drought and reduced agricultural production across Southern Africa, increasing pressure on food supplies and prices.
El Niño is a recurring climate pattern linked to shifts in ocean temperatures that can bring extreme weather, including drought in some regions.
The EU’s “Solidarity Lanes” — alternative routes for Ukrainian exports — have provided an additional way to move goods, according to the statement.
The EU is also focusing on providing extra grain storage and improving the efficiency of the routes, it said, while adding that these measures cannot replace safe access to Black Sea ports.
Only safe access for commercial vessels to Ukraine’s Black Sea ports around Odesa and the Danube, and secure navigation in the Black Sea, can prevent a further worsening of the situation, the Delegation concluded.
