The UN has warned that the war in Ukraine has serious consequences for its ability to deliver urgently needed food aid to countries around the world, as much of it is blocked in Ukrainian ports, DPA reported.
“Currently, about 4.5 million tons of grain are blocked in Ukrainian ports and ships and cannot be used,” said Martin Frick, director of the World Food Program (WFP) in Germany.
Grain exports are extremely difficult, as Ukrainian ports and sea routes to the country are inaccessible due to the Russian invasion, said the representative of the UN specialized agency to combat world hunger, BTA reports.
Before the war, Ukraine was one of the leading producers of wheat, as well as a major producer of corn.
“Many countries are dependent on cheap wheat from Ukraine. Grain is key to global food aid. The world urgently needs Ukrainian food,” Frick said.
He added that the SPP has so far provided food to about 2.5 million Ukrainians – most in Ukraine itself and several hundred thousand in Moldova.
“Food must reach the trapped and suffering people in Ukraine, but it must also leave the region and reach the rest of the world to alleviate the global food crisis,” Frick said.
“The SPP needs humanitarian access, both to people and to ports, so that food exports resume,” Frick said, adding that “hunger should not be a weapon.”
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