Canada is poised to send cargo ships to ports in Romania and neighbouring countries to help Ukraine get its wheat to Africa and the Middle East.
Russia has blocked Ukraine’s seaports, trapping foreign-flagged vessels and about 20 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain. Now, Canada is joining the effort, foreign minister Melanie Joly announced , in order to free the Ukrainian wheat.
More specifically, Canada plans to dispatch cargo ships to pick up Ukrainian wheat in Romania and other Black Sea states, then deliver the food where it is needed most.
According to Melanie Joly Russia’s war has created a “potential food crisis,” and the West needs “to do more to show African countries, Latin American countries and Middle Eastern countries and Asian countries that we are there to share solutions.”
In fact, World Food Program director David Beasley has warned of a potential humanitarian disaster if Ukraine’s wheat remains stuck in storage. If the blockade is not lifted, there will be no silo space for the next harvest in July/August.
in the meantime, WFP is already cutting food aid rations to Syria, Yemen and elsewhere because of the soaring cost of wheat.
Right now, Ukraine’s grain silos are full. At the same time, 44 million people around the world are marching towards starvation. We have to open up these ports so that food can move in and out of Ukraine
Mr. Beasley said.
