Yesterday, we talked about the ramifications of food insecurity and what challenges the U.S. was facing in making sure we could help those most affected by the shutdown of Ukrainian ports.
While this Russian invasion will have to come to end at some point, there are going to be geopolitical ramifications in the future. One of these ramifications will be about how we get exportable grain and food out of Ukraine for distribution to global markets.
Not only is ag production being slowed in Ukraine, but there are also accusations of Russia stealing grain from Ukraine and sending it back to Russia. We also must realize that the Ukrainian infrastructure has taken a beating. Rails were destroyed, ports are blocked, and shipping lanes were mined. This is not going to magically go away even if a peace deal was struck today.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack talks about the impact this damaged infrastructure is going to have on the future of moving food and goods out of Ukraine.
Vilsack says that the longer these ports take to reopen and repair, the more the risk of global hunger increases. Vilsack says the USDA is looking at a few options.
Vilsack says the U.S. is not acting alone. Canada and the European Union are also looking at options to up production to help make up for the shortage.
There are many European and Asian nations that rely heavily on the exports of Ukrainian food products, and this is going to be a long haul to make it up.
