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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Friday, April 19, 2024
Ukrainian farmers are producing more wheat and corn than expected in a war-torn country where seeds and inputs are difficult to come by and swaths of farmland are in occupied territory, but exports are on the decline again as Russia steps up its attacks on Ukraine’s beleaguered port facilities, according to a new analysis by USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service.
Fertilizer prices may yet experience more volatility in Europe and South America, but the situation has mostly stabilized in the U.S., where fall applications will be relatively normal, says Ken Seitz, president and CEO of Nutrien, a major producer of potash, nitrogen and phosphate products.
Russian attacks inflicted severe damage on key grain-exporting ports in Odesa this week, and Moscow is threatening ships in the Black Sea, a primary route for Ukrainian grain exports.
United Nations officials on Monday lamented Russia’s decision to effectively terminate the Black Sea Grain Initiative by pulling out of the deal, but also said they will continue to fight to revive the UN-brokered agreement.
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres confirmed Monday that Russia has pulled out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, ending the ability of Ukraine to ship grain through its Odesa ports.
Moscow seems intent on letting the Black Sea Grain Initiative expire this coming Monday, but the United Nations is equally resolved to preserve the deal and prevent food prices from rising in some of the poorest nations.
Russia’s threat to pull out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative continues to threaten global supplies of wheat and corn, but China would be one of the biggest losers would be China if that happens.
The United Nations was quick to applaud a deal struck in mid-May to keep the Black Sea Grain Initiative from imploding under Russian pressure, but about two weeks later Moscow is again blocking vessel access to Ukrainian ports amid talks to clear an obstacle to Russian ammonia exports.
Work requirements remain in play in the debt ceiling negotiations between the White House and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. It’s still not clear which program might be affected, but President Biden has once again signaled that he might go along with some changes.
