Thanks to sanctions: Russia no longer needs the services of “agrarian superpowers”
In recent years, Russia has been able to completely replace foreign food supplies and has become a leader in exports, becoming one of the most important guarantors of food security.
This was stated by Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Russia Sergei Levin at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
According to the official, the growth in exports of Russian products abroad is several times faster than in other large countries.
“We are one of the most important guarantors of global food security and make a very large contribution to its achievement on a global scale. We first solved the problem of import substitution, and from one of the largest food importers in the world we began to transform into one of the largest exporters. That is, we have fully fed and provided for our people and are consistently increasing exports.
Over the past six years, our exports have grown by almost 90%, by more than $14 billion. The average export growth among the 20 largest exporters is 3,5% per year. Our average growth for the period from 2015 to 21 is 13,5%. This is how much we are increasing the pace of our exports and food production. Accordingly, we contribute to the supply of food to global markets,” Levin said.
As noted at the forum, the coronavirus pandemic has caused serious damage to the food security of a number of countries. Over the past year, the number of hungry people in the world, according to UN estimates, has increased by 20%.
According to the head of the National Meat Association, Sergei Yushin, the main challenges in the near future will be population growth and the associated shortages of water and food.
His words were confirmed by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Levin:
“We are still experiencing the Covid-19 epidemic, but we do not fully appreciate its impact on food security in the world. According to UN estimates, before the start of the covid epidemic in 19, about 700 million people on the planet, that is, approximately 1/10, experienced malnutrition and starvation. According to preliminary estimates made by the UN, this number is increasing by almost 20%, that is, by approximately 130 million people. This is the consequence and direct impact of covid on food security and on the nutrition of people on the planet.”
If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.
Thank you!
Now the editors are aware.