As Russia’s war on Ukraine rages on, Russians and those who sell food to them are beginning to feel its effects in the grocery store.
Russia’s agriculture minister said March 23 that the country is looking for alternative sources of baby food and dairy product packaging.
“In order to maintain stability in this segment due to restrictions on imports of packaging and a number of ingredients for baby food production, we are working with the business community and the trade ministry to find opportunities to replace foreign suppliers of packaging,” the minister told a government meeting according to Al Jazeera.
Meanwhile, farmers around the world who depend on Russia as an export market have seen the bottom drop out of prices. A banana farmer in Ecuador told the Wall Street Journal that since exports to Russia was closed off, his bananas sell for so little that he preferred to give them away – blocking a road with them to make a point. Fresh-cut flowers and shrimp, two other Ecuadorian exports heavily bought by Russia, have also seen their prices plunge.
The G-7, a group of world leaders having a meeting in Brussels, pledged in a statement to “make coherent use of all instruments and funding mechanisms to address food security, and build resilience in the agriculture sector in line with climate and environment goals.”
The group called on its members and other nations to avoid hoarding or otherwise restricting trade in food commodities. Hungary has halted grain shipments outside of its borders, to the displeasure of other members of the European Union.
