Even in times of war, Ukraine is among the world’s top 5 agricultural exporters, – Mykola Solskyi

UkrAgroConsult

Mykola Solskyi, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, spoke about key food challenges and ways to overcome them during his speech at the opening of the International Green Week.

One of these challenges is the blocking of Ukrainian agricultural exports, both at the beginning of the full-scale war with Russia and today, due to artificial inspections of ships in the Bosporus, which causes turbulence in food markets. As a result, food prices are rising and the food crisis is getting worse.

“Ukraine, together with its international partners, has made every effort to expand new logistics routes, including the launch of the grain corridor. Thanks to this, we have remained the guarantor of the world’s food security. Even in such difficult conditions, our country has managed to export more than 40 million tons of grains, oilseeds and processed products since the beginning of the war to provide food for hundreds of millions of people around the world. Despite all this, Ukraine has retained its position among the top 5 global agricultural exporters,” he emphasized.

However, according to the Minister, food security is not the only challenge for the modern world. The problems of climate change, which entail the depletion of resources, as well as the transformation of food systems, energy saving, and the use of renewable resources are also relevant.

All this requires appropriate solutions from the international community, Mykola Solskyi emphasized. The Minister named the development of alternative energy sources as one of them. “We, like other European countries, are reviewing the high value of biological resources, assessing their economic prospects and prioritizing further development of the bioeconomy. Ukraine can also become an active participant in the biomethane boom, as 70% of our territory is covered by agricultural land, the largest area in Europe. Our biomethane production potential is up to 10 billion m³ per year. It will be enough to meet both domestic demand and export to the EU through existing gas pipelines,” the Minister said.

In addition, he emphasized that today, in order to accelerate the development of farming and solve problems related to hunger and the environment, net exporters with advanced agricultural technologies should share their experience with developing countries.

“We need to encourage farmers to take a new course of action. We need to support and stimulate their activities. This is an opportunity to unite and adopt new rules of existence for the world for the sake of the future. Priority No. 1 is sustainable development. Ukraine is part of the civilized world, and we are making our contribution to solving these global problems. But to do so, we need victory and peace. Without peace in Ukraine, global stability is impossible,” Mykola Solskyi summarized.

Tags: Ukraine, export, grain