UN World Food Program stops buying Russian grain and flour

Russian companies have been restricted from accessing tenders for food supplies for the UN World Food Program, which helps supply food to poor countries.

This is a program under which food is purchased by the WFP and transferred to poor countries as humanitarian aid, and Russia has been its supplier for the past 20 years, the Russian news agency RBC reports.

According to the agency’s source in the Russian market, flour producers in Russia have already felt the decline in the number of orders from Russian exporters accredited by the WFP.

Alexander Kalinin, president of the Russian business association “Support of Russia,” confirmed that he was aware of problems with Russian suppliers to the WFP, without elaborating.

At the same time, the UN refuses to buy Russian products, according to the agency’s sources.

“In recent months, it has become the norm that goods of Russian origin – and we are obliged to indicate this in the tender application – are not allowed in principle,” said Dmitry Sukhov, head of the humanitarian support department at Abakan Air, which is the largest Russian supplier to the WFP.

Invitations to some tenders have stopped coming to Russian suppliers altogether, although they are being sent to suppliers from other countries, Sukhov said.

Dilyara Ravilova-Borovik, Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the WFP and other international organizations in Rome, confirmed that Russian suppliers to the WFP have faced restrictions on access to food tenders.

According to her, the first signals from Russian suppliers that they were not allowed to participate in some food supply tenders began to arrive several months ago, says the Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the WFP.

“The current situation is as follows: a number of donors, when transferring funds to WFP, include a warning that their funds cannot be used to purchase food made in Russia or purchased from Russian companies,” Ravilova-Borovik explains.

According to the publication, in recent years, Russian food – flour, sunflower oil, peas – has accounted for up to 20% of all external supplies to the UN World Food Program. The high share of Russia was due to the fact that Russian products were 10-15% cheaper than those of alternative suppliers.

The main recipients of Russian food through the WFP have historically been the most humanitarian vulnerable countries, such as Syria, Sudan, Afghanistan, Palestine and Central Asia.

To recap, the UN World Food Program was established in 1961 as a joint project of the UN and FAO to fight hunger and poverty in the world. Today, it is the world’s largest humanitarian organization operating in more than 120 countries.

The UN World Food Program was established in 1961 as a joint project of the UN and FAO to fight hunger and poverty in the world. Today, it is the world’s largest humanitarian organization operating in more than 120 countries.

The WFP’s activities are funded by voluntary contributions from donors – governments, organizations, corporations and individuals. In 2022, the organization managed to raise about $14.2 billion. The largest donor countries include the United States ($7.2 billion), Germany ($1.7 billion), and the EU ($698.2 million). Russia’s contribution amounted to only $30.5 million.

Tags: Russia, grain, flour, FAO