The reduction of fertilizer supplies from Russia, caused by Western sanctions, may lead to a large-scale food crisis in African countries, Financial Times reported on Monday.
As the newspaper notes, the anti-Russian sanctions imposed by Western countries have resulted in the export restrictions of fertilizers to world markets, which previously accounted for about 15% of global supplies. In particular, cutting off Russian banks from the SWIFT international payment system seriously complicates the purchase of Russian fertilizers for African countries. This has a particularly acute impact on food security of the continent's states, which "rely on supplies from Russia," the newspaper specifies.
At the same time, according to the assessment of the Gro Intelligence analytical company cited by the newspaper, the specifics of Africa are that "even a slight decrease of fertilizer availability leads to a disproportionately large drop in crop yields," which together with the drought "creates a threat of food shortages." According to analysts from the Dutch NGO IDH, sub-Saharan Africa is already "in a food security crisis," the newspaper says.
According to experts of the McKinsey consulting company, whose estimates are reported by the newspaper, "the consequences of the impending crisis may be even more serious than in 2007-2008". They also warn of the threat of "social unrest" and compare the potential consequences of such a crisis with the "Arab spring", provoked, they say, by the food price hikes in 2010-2011.
Earlier, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin stated that it would hardly be possible to restore the normal functioning of supply chains and solve other tasks related to global food security until the "artificial illegitimate obstacles" of the West, which Russian economic operators face in their foreign economic activities - including bans on port calls, restrictions on cargo insurance and payments - are eliminated.
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Based on materials from TASS