Concerns about hunger all over the world: Özdemir raises allegations against India - and reaps displeasure from aid NGOs

Created: 05/16/2022, 17:40

By: Magdalena von Zumbusch

Famine threatens worldwide due to dependence on Russian and Ukrainian food exports.

Putin is using "hunger as a weapon", it is argued.

Stuttgart – On Saturday (May 14) in Stuttgart, the G7 countries discussed rising food prices and the threat of famine.

The recently announced Indian export ban on wheat, which raises fears of supply crises, has been heavily criticized.

Hunger from the Ukraine war?

Green Minister Özdemir reprimands India

The international grain markets are tense because of the Russia-Ukraine war, prices are going up.

The soaring prices threaten to spread to famine in poor countries that depend on imports from Ukraine or Russia.

On May 14th and 15th, representatives of the G7, the EU, the UNO and the OECD sought solutions.

According to Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir (Die Grünen), the G7 group spoke out in particular against export bans.

"We are calling for the markets to be kept open." India, the world's second-largest wheat producer, had previously announced that it would ban grain exports with immediate effect.

The decision was made in light of the rise in global wheat prices;

New Delhi sees India's food security at risk.

A heat wave had destroyed part of the harvest in the country in the past few months.

"If everyone starts to impose such export restrictions or even close markets, that will exacerbate the crisis," said Özdemir.

The aid organization "Bread for the World", on the other hand, expressed understanding for India's export ban: "It is only justified if the Indian government wants to prevent hunger in its own country by stopping exports," said Francisco Marí, world food officer at the evangelical aid organization, the daily newspaper

.

The state can buy too little grain to provide 500 million poor Indians with subsidized wheat.

Experts from “Bread for the World” call for quick help for threatened countries such as Tunisia and Egypt

"I have to shake my head at how Mr. Özdemir came to attack India, even though the G7 themselves could provide millions of additional tons of wheat, for example by burning less grain as fuel or feeding it," said the development expert Mari criticism.

Germany, for example, currently feeds 80 percent of the wheat.

He called for countries like Tunisia and Egypt to help quickly and unbureaucratically.

Tunisia covers 45 percent and Egypt 35 percent of its calorie requirement with mostly imported wheat.

"It is fatal when the International Monetary Fund makes it a condition in this situation that the affected countries reduce subsidies for staple foods," said Marí.

The federal government should counter such demands by the IMF.

War in Ukraine blocks grain in particular: major exporters Ukraine and Russia are gone

At the meeting, Özdemir paid "great respect" to Ukrainian farmers who fought and defended their land during the day and "sow sow and make sure the harvest can be brought in" at night.

At the moment, however, the situation is dramatic - 20 million tons of grain are stored in Ukraine, which cannot be exported due to blocked delivery routes and ports.

The Ukraine war has "serious consequences for global food security," summarized Özdemir.

So there were talks about concrete help.

Özdemir emphasized that alternative delivery routes are important - "overland, by rail, via the Danube".

The aim is to save as much of the harvest as possible.

But it is clear that not everything that Russia blocks can be compensated for.

The Secretary General of Welthungerhilfe, Mathias Mogge, confirmed the acute danger of famine: "Countries such as Egypt, Kenya, South Sudan, Lebanon and many other countries have so far been directly or indirectly heavily dependent on Russian and Ukrainian exports," Mogge told the editorial network Germany (RND).

“These countries are not getting the quantities they ordered, or they have to pay a lot more for it.” Poor people in particular, who have to spend a large proportion of their income on food, would feel the effects.

The increased prices are also a huge problem for aid organizations such as Welthungerhilfe.

Video: As early as March, experts warned of famine as a result of the Ukraine war

Putin uses "hunger as a weapon", according to Özdemir: "A particularly disgusting component of the war"

Ukraine's Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskyi said it was "clear that this year's harvest will be much smaller than last year's".

However, it is still about large quantities that also have to be exported.

"It will be a challenge because the majority of Ukrainian ports are not working," the minister said.

He asked for help: "We cannot solve this task alone." Solskyi also warned that the global situation as a whole and consumer prices also depend on the situation.

"Day by day" the grain is getting more expensive.

The Black Sea ports urgently need to be unlocked and logistical options in the Baltic ports need to be looked at.

Özdemir emphasized the role of Russia, which uses famines strategically for its own purposes: Vladimir Putin not only wants to "eliminate a competitor", but also wages an "economic war" in which the aim is to "appropriate" the property of farmers.

The President uses "hunger as a weapon", which is a "particularly disgusting component" of the war.

Russia rejected criticism: High prices and impending famine as a result of Western sanctions

Russia denied responsibility for high food prices and the threat of a hunger crisis.

Prices rose because of Western sanctions, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on her Telegram channel on Saturday.

"If you don't understand that, it's either a sign of stupidity or deliberately misleading the public." (

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