MINSK, 27 September (BelTA) – The position of wealthiest countries on food is predatory, Russian President Vladimir Putin said as he was speaking at a meeting on the progress in the seasonal field work, RIA Novosti reports.
The Russian leader noted that the cost of food on the world market returned to the levels of the beginning of the year, but at the same time it is 40% higher than in 2020. "This is a direct consequence, without any exaggeration, of the predatory policy of the richest countries, which continue to actively buy up food," Vladimir Putin stressed.
The head of state drew attention to the fact that in the second quarter of this year, food imports to the United States in annual terms reached $218.6 billion compared to $185.1 billion a year earlier. The volume of U.S. imports exceeds exports by $22.3 billion. In previous years, their exports exceeded imports.
The Russian president drew attention to the fact that grain from Ukraine is not getting to the poorest countries. He noted that the West is provoking a global food crisis. As of 23 September, of 203 ships that left Ukrainian ports, only four left for the poorest countries under the UN program.
Earlier, on 22 July 2022, documents were signed in Istanbul to solve the problems of food and fertilizer supplies to world markets. Among the package documents there was a memorandum stipulating the UN obligations to lift restrictions on the export of agricultural products and fertilizers from the Russian Federation to foreign markets. There was also a document prescribing an algorithm for the export of Ukrainian agricultural products from the Black Sea ports.
