World News | UN: West Africa Next in Line for Tied-up Russian Fertiliser
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. A top UN official said Friday that West Africa is next in line to receive crucial Russian fertiliser that has been prevented from being exported from European ports to needy countries, largely over private-sector concerns about financing and insurance for such deliveries.
Geneva, Nov 18 (AP) A top UN official said Friday that West Africa is next in line to receive crucial Russian fertiliser that has been prevented from being exported from European ports to needy countries, largely over private-sector concerns about financing and insurance for such deliveries.
Rebeca Grynspan, the head of the U.N. trade office, hailed "very good news for the world” that Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the world body had a day earlier extended a four-month deal to ease the export of Ukrainian grain and foodstuffs through the Black Sea.
The war in Ukraine has helped drive up prices for food and fertiliser around the world. The extension had a quick impact on market prices and earned the UN some breathing space as talks continue.
“But we have said very clearly that we are still not where we want to be," Grynspan told a U.N. briefing in Geneva. “There is still work to be done and especially in the fertiliser area because there, still, we are seeing a fertiliser crunch."
"We see a very steep decline in the demand for fertilisers because of the affordability crisis, and that is what is keeping us awake right now,” she added.
The agreement struck on July 22 which had been set to expire on Saturday, unblocked shipments of 11 million tons of grain and foodstuffs from Ukraine and helped ease rising global food prices.
The deal will be extended by another four months. The initiative set up a safe shipping corridor in the Black Sea and inspection procedures to address concerns that cargo vessels might carry weapons or launch attacks.
Obstacles still remain for a second, parallel deal on the export of Russian food and fertilisers. Moscow has expressed displeasure that progress hasn't been made — and it expects some.
Before the war, Russia was the world's top exporter of fertiliser and a lack of it could precipitate a future food crisis.
Although Western sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine did not target food exports, many shipping and insurance companies were reluctant to deal with Moscow, either refusing to do so or greatly increasing the price.
Russia has offered to donate 260,000 metric tons of fertiliser stored in European ports to farmers in the developing world who have been priced out of the fertilizer market because of shortages. The U.N. official said the first ship is slated to leave the Netherlands on Monday for Mozambique, where the fertiliser will go by land to Malawi.
“We hope that the next destination of the fertilisers will be West Africa, that has been a very affected by the affordability crisis of fertilisers," said Grynspan. "Next destinations: West Africa.” (AP)
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)