Miller Magazine Issue: 150 June 2022

87 ARTICLE MILLER / JUNE 2022 restrictions by Slovakia and Italy, allow us to freely supply our agri- cultural products to Italy and its seaports. All border countries have responded to the problem of grain exports fromUkraine to third countries and have either significantly simplified the procedures for registration of freight, or are actively working on it. In particular, liberal conditions for Ukrainian carriers have been introduced by Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, as well as Italy, Turkey, Bulgaria, Georgia, Denmark, Greece and, more recently, Austria. Such joint efforts will allow us to export at least half of the vol- umes that went through our ports. Among other things, it would also help Ukrainian farmers prepare for the new harvest by freeing up domestic elevators. In addition, they would receive economi- cally positive liquidity, which would have a positive impact on the economy in general and on our exchange rate in particular. And, of course, this would make a significant contribution to the world's food security, as it would restore the supply of significant amounts of food to various countries around the world. This would relieve tensions, both in terms of rising prices and in terms of food short- ages, which are already occurring in many countries around the world. For example, in view of the slowdown in wheat exports from Ukraine, East Asia began to look for alternative sources of supply, including India, and India, concerned for its own food security, lim- ited wheat exports. And this is only the first signal. Other countries, especially the Middle East and Africa, will not be able to do without export supplies of Ukrainian agricultural products. Replace it with nothing physically, including supplies from the aggressor country of the Russian Federation or from any other. Today it is not possible to find an alternative to such volumes and replace our products. This cannot be done physically, even in the next 3-5 years. The blockade of the ports of Odessa and Mykolayiv has al- ready led to a significant increase in prices for agricultural products and its physical shortage around the world, especially in the Middle East and North Africa. If the situation with the war and the blockade of ports lasts, for example, up to six months, the countries of these regions will in principle not have grain. And that means hunger. Therefore, international security standards should be applied to Ukraine as a guarantor of food security. Russia's war against Ukraine has shown the need to change approaches to the guarantors of food security, which is Ukraine. There are currently no international guaran- tees that this food is supplied systematically. There should be mecha- nisms in place to ensure the safety of exporting countries, the ability to transport products, avoiding any port blockages and delays in ex- porting products. After all, every year we feed, in addition to ourselves, about 400 million people, most of whom may face hunger. Transportation of agricultural products by rail or road, as is current- ly the case, makes logistics more expensive. Now, in order to deliver products, for example through Polish ports, it is necessary to cover a distance three to four times longer. Therefore, it causes more expen- sive products. World prices for agricultural products have risen, in some positions - up to 30%. At the same time, as a rule, the countries that import our products have a low level of welfare - they are sensitive to prices. Therefore, in addition to the fact that physically products are becoming less for them, it is even less available due to rising prices. Ukraine has made it clear in the international arena that it does not stop or block exports. Everything we do not need for domestic consumption, we are ready to supply.