Russia's Weaponization of Food Leads 26 Countries to Restrict Food Exports... Spread of 'Food Protectionism' (Comprehensive)

India Considers Rice Export Ban Following Wheat and Sugar
Grain Transport Resumption Delayed by 6 Months for Mine Clearance
Sharp Rise in Marine Insurance Costs for Black Sea Shipping Vessels Also a Concern

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Following Russia's blockade of the Black Sea and the weaponization of food, 26 major agricultural exporting countries have announced food export restriction measures, intensifying the global food crisis. As countries' 'food protectionism' spreads, concerns are growing that food security threats will increase in nations with low food self-sufficiency rates.

◆ Successive Export Bans... Concerns Over Food Crisis

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

According to the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), a U.S. think tank, as of the 8th (local time), 26 major countries worldwide, including India, Malaysia, and Argentina, have announced bans or restrictions on food exports. Nineteen countries have completely blocked exports of certain agricultural products, while seven countries require government approval for exports.

In particular, India, the world's second-largest wheat producer, announced a wheat export ban last month and restricted sugar exports on the 1st, spreading concerns about a food crisis to neighboring regions. According to CNBC, the Price Monitoring Committee under the Indian Prime Minister's Office has indicated that rice exports may also be restricted in the future.

If India, which accounts for 40% of global rice trade and where rice is a staple food, restricts rice exports, a large-scale food crisis is feared to occur mainly in South Asia. Not only India, but Thailand, a major rice exporter in Southeast Asia, is reportedly considering rice export restrictions in cooperation with Vietnam.

The recent chicken export ban announced by Malaysia is also spreading to other Southeast Asian countries. Earlier, the Malaysian government announced that from the 1st, it would ban all chicken exports, including poultry, chilled and frozen chicken, and processed chicken products. In Singapore, which mainly sources chicken through Malaysia, there are concerns that chilled chicken prices could rise by more than 30%.

The global move toward food protectionism is due to the escalating food crisis following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In particular, Russia's blockade of the Black Sea has blocked the export route for 22 million tons of Ukrainian grain. According to the World Food Programme (WFP), this amount could feed 400 million people worldwide.

◆ US: "Russia Threatening the World with Food"

The key to resolving the global food crisis is expected to be the lifting of Russia's Black Sea blockade and the resumption of grain shipments, but this is currently difficult. Russia opposes agreements to resume grain shipments and is reportedly moving seized grain to its own ports for smuggling.

On the 6th, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, at a State Department meeting on food security, strongly criticized, "Russian President Vladimir Putin is blackmailing the world with food to force submission and lift sanctions against Russia," and "He is diverting Ukraine's export grain, causing global grain prices to soar."

Even if Russia agrees to resume grain shipments in the future, it is expected to take at least six months, raising concerns that grain prices will continue to surge. According to the UK Guardian, Markiyan Dmytrasevych, an advisor to Ukraine's Minister of Agriculture and Food, explained at a press conference the day before, "Thousands of mines are floating around the Black Sea ports, and even if removal operations start now, it will take six months until the end of the year."

Insurance companies' refusal to provide marine insurance for grain ships traveling through the Black Sea is also a major obstacle to resuming grain shipments. Although grain ships are not subject to marine insurance sanctions under U.S. and European Union (EU) sanctions against Russia, concerns over scattered mines and sporadic Russian military bombings have led insurers to refuse coverage or demand very high premiums.

◆ Thousands of Mines Along the Black Sea Coast

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

According to the UK BBC, after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the London War Risks Club (JWC) designated the Black Sea and Azov Sea areas, where major grain export ports are concentrated, as war risk zones. The entire area has been classified as a navigation hazard zone, causing ship insurance premiums to rise sharply.

In fact, after a Bangladeshi-flagged ship bombed by Russian forces at Ukraine's Mykolaiv port in March filed an insurance claim of $22.8 million (about 28.7 billion KRW), insurers have reportedly been reluctant to provide insurance for ships navigating the Black Sea area.

The UK Financial Times (FT), citing a senior EU official familiar with the issue, reported, "Even at the UN-mediated talks to resume grain shipping routes, no method was found to guarantee marine insurance for the ships to be chartered for grain loading," and "Even if the Black Sea blockade is lifted, the already soaring insurance premiums are likely to rise further, so international organizations will need to arrange separate insurance to practically resume grain shipments."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.