Putin says Russia will ‘monitor’ food exports to ‘hostile’ countries amid global food shortages

[beijingwalker]

Putin says Russia will ‘monitor’ food exports to ‘hostile’ countries amid global food shortages​

AFP
April 6, 2022 7:02 AM

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday Moscow would carefully “monitor” food exports to “hostile” nations as the West pummels the country with sanctions over its military action in Ukraine.

“Against the backdrop of global food shortages, this year we will have to be prudent with supplies abroad and carefully monitor such exports to countries that are clearly hostile towards us,” Putin said at a meeting on agriculture.

The Russian leader also said that the country’s food production “fully” covered domestic needs and urged officials to ramp up import substitution.

“We need to set clear targets for import substitution and persistently pursue them in the very near future,” he said, referring to the country’s “potential” in agriculture, industry and science.


He also said it was important “to minimise the negative external effects” for Russians who should have access to “high-quality affordable food products, including fish products”.

“This is a key task for the current year.”

Developing and import-dependent countries have been heavily impacted by Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine — the two countries that account for more than a quarter of the world’s annual wheat sales.

Supply chain problems caused by the Covid pandemic quickly worsened after Putin sent troops to pro-Western Ukraine on Feb 24, sending food prices even higher.

Russia is a major producer of fertiliser and the financial and logistics sanctions have also hit exports, which may depress agricultural production elsewhere and further fuel price increases.

Putin said logistical and insurance issues need to be resolved to resume fertiliser exports.

“There is a shortage and people will buy it. Nobody wants to die of hunger,” said Putin.

https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2022/04/06/putin-says-russia-will-monitor-food-exports-to-hostile-countries/

 

[beijingwalker]

What else does Russia export, beyond oil and gas?​

Russia: a commodity superpower​

18 Mar 2022

• The war in Ukraine has focused attention on Russia’s global exports.
• Russia is a key supplier of not just oil and gas, but also wheat, metals and fertilizers.
• Sanctions on Russia have led to sharp rises in various commodity prices.

Russia’s response to international sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine has been to order a halt to exports of more than 200 products. But what exactly does Russia export and where do its shipments go?

Media attention has focused on Russia’s role as a major supplier of oil and gas, but the country also exports many other commodities and products.

Crude oil is Russia’s biggest export, accounting for $123 billion of its export revenues, data for 2019 shows. Next on the list are refined petroleum – things like petrol and diesel – at $66.2 billion, gas at $26.3 billion and coal at $17.6 billion.

But Russia is also the world’s largest exporter of wheat, bringing in $8.14 billion from sales in 2019. It is also a big exporter of semi-finished iron – this includes iron bars and other items used to make iron products – with sales worth just under $7 billion in 2019, and a large supplier of nickel ($4.03 billion) and nitrogen-based fertilizers ($3.05 billion).

Energy and raw materials, such as metals, are actually exempt from the export ban, although Bloomberg quoted Moscow as saying it has suspended timber exports “to states that are undertaking hostile actions against Russia”. The ban also covers telecoms, medical, vehicle, agricultural and electrical equipment.

In terms of raw materials, Russia is also the second-largest exporter of cobalt, one of the key elements used in making rechargeable batteries. It is also the world’s second-largest supplier of vanadium, which is used in large-scale energy storage and in steelmaking.

The country is the sixth-largest exporter of gold, accounting for 4.4% of the world’s supply, and the 10th biggest supplier of lead.

Russia accounts for 10% of the world’s supply of nickel, which is used to make stainless steel and vehicle batteries. The price of nickel soared by 250% in a day on fears that sanctions would hit supplies, and the London Metal Exchange even suspended trading of the metal because of the unprecedented price rises.

Russian exports of platinum account for 12.3% of global supply, and the country is the world’s fourth-largest exporter of tungsten. The country also supplies smaller quantities of manganese (which is used in glassmaking, drinks cans and as paint pigment) and zinc (used in making car bodies).

Russia covers about 3.5% of global demand for copper, and copper prices have hit record highsthis month.

Who buys Russia’s exports?​

China is the leading destination for Russia’s exports, taking 14.9% of the total by value in 2020. Next is the Netherlands, whose 7.4% share is largely accounted for by oil and gas imports.

Other significant commodity export markets for Russia include the United Kingdom, which in 2020 took 6.9% of Russia’s total exports by value (worth $23 billion), Germany (5.5%) and Belarus (4.7%).

What else does Russia export, beyond oil and gas?

Russia plans to halt exports of raw materials in response to sanctions because of its war on Ukraine.

www.weforum.org