Food Shortages, Economic Collapse and the Failing Great Reset

A Syrian-flagged ship named the Laodicea that docked in the Lebanese port of Tripoli was detained last Saturday, preventing desperately needed flour and barley from reaching people in the Middle East. The move came after Western threats against Beirut and unsubstantiated claims from Kiev that the cargo was stolen from Ukraine. The ship, which has been on a US blacklist since 2015 for allegedly carrying shipments from sanctioned Crimea, is now under investigation.

On Friday, allegations emerged in Western media, citing the Ukrainian embassy in Beirut, that “stolen” flour and barley had been transferred to the Lebanese port of Tripoli and that Kiev had warned the Lebanese government against buying the grain. The news was said to have sparked protests from Western governments “warning” Lebanon’s Foreign Minister, Abdallah Bou Habib, over the allegedly stolen cargo. It later turned out that Kiev possessed no evidence that the flour and barley aboard the ship was from Ukraine. Despite this, Lebanon has now seized the ship and will act according to legal proceedings on the issue, after reported Western pressure.

The Ukrainian embassy in Beirut told Reuters that "the ship has traveled from a Crimean port that is closed to international shipping, carrying 5,000 tonnes of barley and 5,000 tonnes of flour that we suspect was taken from Ukrainian stores," without presenting evidence to support the claim. An official from a private firm responsible for the import of the grain, Loyal Agro Co LTD, based in Turkey, not only denied that the goods were Ukrainian, but also clarified that the ship was carrying 8,000 tonnes of flour and 1,700 tonnes of barley in total. The vessel was also said to have been seeking private buyers in Lebanon, not a sale to the Lebanese government, and was destined to travel on to Syria after its stop in Tripoli.

Additionally, the Russian embassy in Beirut said that it had “no information regarding the Syrian vessel or a cargo brought to Lebanon by a private company.” An official at the Lebanese port authority also stated that there was “nothing wrong” with the cargo aboard the ship. None of this however, was enough to prevent the issue being pursued and for Lebanon to be threatened.

What makes this issue troubling, is that - without evidence – Western nations and Kiev can openly pressure Lebanon to keep much needed supplies away from its people, in this case potentially forever and for at least 72 hours under detention. The country is currently suffering its worst ever economic collapse, enduring shortages in food, medicine, electricity and essential goods. According to some UN estimates, some 78% of the Lebanese population now live in poverty. The food shortage has led to long queues at bakeries, sometimes resulting in gunfire and brawls between people fighting over the limited supply of bread. The Ukraine crisis has made Lebanon’s predicament even tougher, with a lack of flow of supplies from Ukraine and difficulties bringing in Russian goods due to sanctions. The Western “Caesar Act” sanctions against Syria have also made the situation even worse, as Lebanon has historically benefited greatly from its bigger neighbor.

What Kiev is doing, by threatening the future of bilateral relations between Lebanon and Ukraine over this issue, could be interpreted as blackmail. Ukraine has 20 million tonnes of wheat that it still hasn’t exported and a severing of relations with Beirut would mean that Lebanon could potentially miss out on acquiring it during a food shortage. The Lebanese government is clearly in a weak position and Kiev, backed by the power of NATO, is now attempting to bully Beirut over unsubstantiated claims that are denied by all sides, notwithstanding that officials won’t even state the allegation with certainty.

Another issue here is the double-standard at play, whilst Western nations suffer economically themselves, there is no hesitation at sending billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine every other week. Yet when it comes to simply amending sanctions, after pledging to do so, in order to allow Egypt to send gas to ease the energy crisis in Lebanon, Washington still refuses to allow it, a year later.

Instead, based upon unsubstantiated claims, Lebanon is forced to suffer even more by having basic food supplies dangled over its head. Whilst the West acts holier-than-thou on the issue of unsubstantiated claims of Ukraine’s grain being sold by private firms in Lebanon, it seemingly forgets that the US illegally occupies neighboring Syria’s most fertile agricultural lands, in addition to the majority of its oil and gas fields.

America has repeatedly been accused of smuggling Syrian grain and oil into Iraq, resources which should belong to the Syrian government and could be part of the answer to Lebanon’s current shortage.

www.rt.com/russia/560047-ukraine-lebanon-food-crisis

None of the grain ships that have departed from Ukrainian ports as of Tuesday were headed for African countries most at risk of starvation, according to the New York Times. The first ship to leave via the “grain corridor” arrangement saw its cargo rejected by the buyers in Lebanon, who cited the delivery delay.

Since the arrangement took effect on August 1, ten ships have left Ukrainian ports, mainly carrying animal feed. One is headed to England, another to Ireland, while several are on their way to Turkey, Italy and China. None of them are bound for Yemen, Somalia, or other countries facing “catastrophic levels of hunger,” the Times reported on Tuesday.

The first ship to reach its destination was the Turkish-flagged Polarnet, which docked in Derince on Monday with 12,000 tons of maize. Celebrating its arrival, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said it “sends a message of hope to every family in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia,” adding, “Ukraine won’t abandon you.”

Meanwhile, President Vladimir Zelensky told his counterpart Mokgweetsi Masisi of Botswana on Monday that Ukraine was “ready to continue being the guarantor of world food security.”

However, most of the 20 million tons of grain held up in Ukrainian ports for the past several months is animal feed, and not intended for human consumption, according to experts quoted by AP.

The first ship to leave Ukraine under the “grain corridor” arrangement carried 26,000 metric tons of chicken feed, destined for Lebanon. The Sierra Leone-flagged freighter Razoni sailed out of Odessa on August 1 to much fanfare – only to be turned back from Beirut on Monday, after the Lebanese buyer refused to accept the shipment, on the grounds of it being several months too late.

www.rt.com/russia/560560-ukraine-grain-africa-problems

At least 38% of the grain exported from Ukraine under the UN-brokered deal is shipped to the EU instead of the developing countries in Africa for which it was intended, Spain’s El Pais newspaper reported on Thursday, citing UN data and ship tracking figures.

According to the report, more than 2.3 million tons of corn, wheat, barley and other agricultural products were exported through the Black Sea corridor from Ukraine between August 1 and September 7. Of this total, about 900,000 tons were sent to the ports of EU member states. The report notes that it is impossible to trace from the available data whether the EU is the final destination of the shipments or a transit point.

On July 22, multilateral agreements were signed in Istanbul establishing the framework of exports of Ukrainian grain, food, and fertilizers via the Black Sea. The agreements also lifted restrictions on Russian grain and fertilizer exports. However, according to Russia’s permanent representative to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, the part of the food deal that concerns the export of Russian products has not been implemented, which could lead to the termination of the deal by Moscow.

Speaking at a plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Western nations of lying when they claimed Ukraine needed access to sea shipping to alleviate surging food prices and the risk of famine in poor countries, as a lion’s share of the grain is being exported to Western states. In his remark earlier on Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sided with the Russian leader, saying that Ukrainian grain is “unfortunately” going mostly to rich countries.

www.rt.com/business/562452-ukraine-grain-to-eu-not-africa

The sanctions the West has imposed on Russia over the Ukraine conflict stand in the way of the grain deal that was supposed to allow Moscow to export food products and fertilizers, Russia’s permanent representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia said on Thursday.

Speaking at a UN Security Council meeting, Nebenzia slammed Western “illegal unilateral sanctions,” thwarting the implementation of the UN- and Turkey brokered deal unblocking Ukrainian grain export via the Black Sea in exchange for Russian agricultural products gaining unimpeded access to global markets.

“The European Union and the United States’ narrative saying that their sanctions do not interfere with the export of food and fertilizers does not reflect reality,” Russia’s envoy noted.

According to Nebenzia, about 300,000 tons of Russian fertilizer to the tune of “tens of millions of dollars” have been stuck in European ports due to the sanctions.

He went on to explain that “the restrictions have made bank transactions much more difficult,” given that Russian bank accounts playing a key role in the agricultural sector were closed off. Another major issue is that shipping insurance fees have skyrocketed, he said.

The diplomat also accused EU officials of hypocrisy, saying, Brussels prohibits European carriers from transporting Russian fertilizers to Africa, Asia or Latin America, but allows deliveries to EU countries.

“Great help to poor countries. This selfishness, cynicism and hypocrisy of EU officials is especially indicative,” he noted.

The envoy added that almost half of all Ukrainian grain shipments go to high-income countries, while only six out of 136 vessels carrying just over 250 thousand tons of cargo went to the poorest countries suffering from a food crisis.

These comments echo earlier remarks by Russian President Vladimir Putin who last week accused the West of lying when it claimed Ukraine needed access to sea shipping to alleviate surging food prices and the risk of famine in poor countries.

Wheat deliveries from Ukraine, a major producer, were disrupted after Russia launched its military operation in the neighboring state in late February. The two sides traded accusations over who was responsible for the stoppage of cargo traffic out of the Ukrainian ports.

Since August 1, when shipments resumed, however, more than three million tons of grain and other foodstuffs have left Ukrainian ports as part of the agreement, according to the UN.

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Russia announced on Saturday that it has halted its compliance with a grain deal, brokered by the UN and Türkiye earlier his year. The move came after Ukraine launched a major drone attack on ships involved in securing safe passage for agricultural cargo, the Russian Defense Ministry explained.

In a post on its Telegram channel, the ministry said Russia “is suspending its participation in the implementation of agreements on the export of agricultural products from Ukrainian ports”.

It explained that the move was prompted by “a terror attack” against the ships of the Black Sea Fleet and civilian vessels involved in ensuring the security of the grain corridor. The ministry also alleged that the bombing was organized with the involvement of British military.

The UK Defence Ministry has denied any involvement in the Ukrainian drone attack on the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, claiming that Moscow “is resorting to peddling false claims of an epic scale” in an effort to distract the global community from “their disastrous handling of the illegal invasion of Ukraine.”

“This invented story, says more about arguments going on inside the Russian Government than it does about the West,” it added.

Russian military reveals details of Ukrainian drone attack in Crimea
Read more Russian military reveals details of Ukrainian drone attack in Crimea
Commenting on Russia’s decision to suspend the grain deal, Andrey Ermak, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s chief of staff, accused Moscow of “blackmail.”

“Russian blackmail is primitive across the board: blackmail in nuclear, energy and food field,” he stated, adding that all supposed Russian ploys are “too simple and predictable.”

Earlier on Saturday, Russia's Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev signaled that Moscow is ready, with Türkiye’s help, to send the world’s poorest countries up to 500,000 tons of grain within the next four next months.

He noted that considering this year's harvest, Russia “is fully ready to replace Ukrainian grain” and arrange deliveries to “all interested countries" at a reasonable price.

“The grain deal not only did not solve the problems of countries in need, but even aggravated them in a sense. We can see where the ships from Ukraine were heading – Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands. For some cargoes, the share of EU countries ranges from 60 to 100%. These are not the states that are experiencing a real food problem,” the minister said.

Russia earlier warned that it could quit the grain deal if an agreement to ease restrictions on its food and fertilizer exports were not implemented. Moreover, following the blast on the strategic Crimean Bridge, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that if turns out that Ukraine – the country that Moscow accused of carrying out the attack – used grain corridors to transport explosives, “it would put the very existence of these corridors in question”.

The breakthrough deal between Moscow and Kiev was reached in Istanbul in July with mediation by the UN and Türkiye. It aimed to unlock agricultural exports via the Black Sea from Russia and Ukraine – two of the world’s leading grain exporters – which had ground to halt due to the conflict between the two nations.

www.rt.com/russia/565588-russia-suspends-grain-deal

Wheat futures soared nearly 8% on Monday after Russia withdrew from a grain export deal with Ukraine following an attack on ships involved in securing the trade route through the Black Sea.

Chicago wheat futures rose 5.5% to $8.75 per bushel on Monday after hitting a high of $8.93 at the start of trade. Corn increased by 2.2% a bushel, while soybeans added 1% to $14.13.

The grain deal, brokered by the UN and Türkiye, was agreed between Russia and Ukraine in July. It was aimed at unlocking agricultural exports via the Black Sea from Russia and Ukraine, which were halted due to the military conflict between the two states.

On Saturday, Moscow halted its compliance with the deal after a drone attack on vessels of the Russian Black Sea Fleet involved in providing safe passage for agricultural cargo. Kiev neither confirmed nor denied carrying out the assault, calling Russia’s decision “primitive blackmail.”

On Monday, the Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) in Istanbul said the UN, Türkiye and Ukraine had agreed on a movement plan for 16 vessels that are located in Türkiye's territorial waters despite Russia’s decision to suspend the deal.

www.rt.com/business/565646-wheat-price-russia-ukraine-deal