And with that, goodnight, GW
WTO: food crisis could last two more years without safe corridors
The world’s food crisis could last until 2024 unless safe corridors are created to move Ukrainian food stocks currently blockaded by Russia, the head of the WTO warns.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told reporters in Davos tonight that:
The food crisis, if we don’t get these safe corridors out, is going to last another year or two, to be honest with you.
Okonjo-Iweala explans than the UN secretary-general is engaged with the issue.
He formed a crisis group composed of key UN agencies and related agencies. WTO is part of it, to look at the food, energy and finance aspects of the crisis.
One issue is the creation of safe corridors and looking at alternative means to evacuate Ukrainian grain.
Rail could take one or two million tonnes, but it’s very difficult so we really need the Black Sea.
I know that some work is going behind [the scenes] to see if we can get a solution. So the secretary general is involved.
Svein Tore Holsether, the CEO of fertiliser firm Yara, says there are practical measures that can be taken to help with the food crisis.
For example the World Food Programme is $10bn short of funding -- wealthy individuals, companies and governments could bridge that gap.
Also, there are grain inventories in some countries that could be released.
And farmers need help paying for inputs - he says Yara are working with farmers in countires such as Ghana.
And on the trapped wheat stocks, which has led to prices rising sharply, he says:
Here we can only plead to humanity, but we cannot put all our hopes on that happening.
Updated
