Photo: Mikhail Kovalev
The US State Department called the grain market global in response to criticism from Russia that Ukrainian wheat is supplied to EU states instead of the poorest countries. This is how James O’Brien, the coordinator of the American sanctions policy, explained the situation at the briefing.
In his opinion, regardless of where a particular ship with wheat arrives, this increases the volume of supply. This, in turn, affects the level of prices for cereals and makes it possible for other states to purchase wheat from other producers under the best conditions. He also stated that the discussion on this subject is “in some sense misleading.”
Earlier at the Eastern Economic Forum, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the grain deal another brazen deception and stressed that almost all wheat exported from Ukraine ended up in the EU countries instead of the poorest countries. He noted that this is a scam, a boorish and arrogant attitude towards those partners in whose name these steps were taken.
On Friday, the ports of arrival of grain ships sent from Ukraine were clarified. Of the 87-mi – 32 sailed to Turkey, 30 went to EU countries, 7 to Egypt, three each to Israel and South Africa. Only two ships brought wheat to the poorest countries under the UN food programs – Djibouti and Yemen.