Pak Sahafat – The Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) has described the impact of Ukraine’s conflict on food prices and famine as fundamental, and warned that the Ukraine war could lead to food riots in poor countries.
According to Pak Sahafat News agency on Tuesday, the Guardian newspaper wrote: Nguzi Akenjo Iwehla warned food-producing countries about hoarding of goods, saying it was important to avoid repeating the Covid-19 epidemic experience, citing rich countries hoarding large volumes of vaccines during the epidemic.
In an interview with the Guardian, a senior WTO official emphasized the dependence of many African countries on food imports from the Black Sea region and said: I think this is very worrying. Food and energy are two important commodities in the consumer basket of weak countries around the world. The poor countries and the people living in these countries will suffer the most.
The former Nigerian finance minister also said that 35 African countries depended on food imports from the Black Sea region, and that Russia and Ukraine were involved in supplying 24 percent of the world’s wheat.
She said: Agriculture has always been a concern in the World Trade Organization. Governments block access to their markets and subsidize their farmers. These debates are relatively hot and always controversial because such issues are important.
Akenjo Iwala, who is in his first year as chairman of the World Trade Organization, was appointed to create some political motivation in an organization embroiled in controversy over how to liberalize trade and dispute resolution mechanisms.
She stressed that some progress has been made in this area, but since he took over the organization, the issues have been relatively difficult and it is not easy.
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After criticizing “Vaccine against apartheid, which affected Africa during the epidemic,” she said: WTO member states must resist the temptation to hoard their food supplies.
The World Trade Organization estimates that 40 percent of the increase in world wheat prices during the food crisis a decade ago was the result of hoarding.
The head of the World Trade Organization also said: We need to make sure we have learned from previous vaccines and food crises. I’m not sure we can completely reduce the impact of the war in Ukraine, because the conflict is intense, but we can reduce some of it.
Ukraine typically supplies half of the World Food Program wheat. The UN program provides essential food aid to countries affected by natural disasters such as famine.
Russia and Ukraine are among the 164 members of the World Trade Organization. The organization was formed with the idea that trade could lead to more peace and prosperity.
Britain, Canada and the 27-nation European Union have set tariffs by abolishing Russia as a desirable trading country. The WTO Favorable Country Status Regulation means that the same trade conditions must be granted to countries.
The senior WTO official also said he did not expect Russia to be expelled from the organization because the process is complex and requires 75% of the positive votes of its members.