The Brazilian government wants a global agreement that allows the creation of food and fertilizer corridors that prevent the war in Ukraine or sanctions against Russia from disrupting markets and agricultural resources.
The proposal was signaled by the Brazilian delegation to the WTO (World Trade Organization) this Monday and comes at a time when the conflict is driving food commodity prices to record highs and causing inflation and hunger to explode in various parts of the world. World.
For the Brazilian economy, in addition to the issue of food, one of the central points is the ability to maintain access to Russian fertilizers, which dominates the national market.
The WTO ministerial conference will take place in June, and organizers hope that understanding will be reached during the summit to ensure that trade measures do not undermine the ability of the entire population to self-feed.
According to the Brazilian delegation, the conference is “taking place under exceptional circumstances” and the results should address both current emergencies and structural problems of the WTO. In fact, the column found that the entire negotiation process was shaken by delegations’ refusal to enter rooms with Russian diplomats.
But the fear for the Brazilian government is that the prolongation of the war will hurt the country’s agricultural exports and the risk of starvation is returning to international debate.
“Food safety will be the most pressing issue at the ministerial conference,” Itamaraty said at a meeting in Geneva. Said.
WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala met with Chancellor Carlos França and President Jair Bolsonaro a few weeks ago, and the issue of agriculture was also discussed. “At a time when food security is a threat on the horizon of the world economy, Brazil is part of the solution. Our agricultural exports feed one out of every ten people. On a sustainable basis, on a productive basis, Brazil is an agricultural power,” Itamaraty said of the mission.
But for the government, it’s not just about trade. “Last week, humanitarian organizations launched a call to keep markets open as acute hunger escalates to alarming levels and the global food situation threatens to worsen,” he said.
Referring to the meeting between the WTO chief and Bolsonaro, the delegation stressed that “a central dimension of the solution to the food security problem is to ensure that the inputs needed to prepare next year’s crops are available to producers”.
“This year, the food crisis manifests itself mainly under the pretext of rising prices. If there is no timely supply of inputs such as fertilizers, the world food supply itself will be at risk from next year,” he said. warned..
According to Itamaraty, Brazil has already begun to create “emergency corridors to ensure the circulation of food and fertilizers” with countries affected by the food crisis, particularly the poorest countries. The column found that the talks took place with African and Latin American countries.
The ministerial conference should pay special attention to this issue and Brazil would like to propose a specific initiative to guarantee access to fertilizers,” he said. “This is a complex and multifaceted issue that no one is ignoring. It will require close cooperation between government agencies and international organizations. “It’s a complex task, but indispensable,” he said.
Brazil must be represented at the event by Chancellor Carlos França.
source: Noticias
