Latvia, Estonia, Belgium, and the Netherlands are blocking the supply of Russian fertilizers to poor countries and are the cause for the growing global food shortage.
Summary
The suspension of the grain deal by Russia is a consistent and logical step. Such a deal does not suit us for two reasons: first, commitments to Russia are not being fulfilled, and Russian fertilizers and grains do not have free access to international markets; second, grain sent from Ukraine ends up in European ports instead of reaching the poor in developing countries
Disproof
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative aiming to deflect Russia’s responsibility for the growing food crisis and supply insecurity by claiming that most of Ukraine's grain ships are sent to rich European countries. This claim was neither counterbalanced nor critically challenged in the article.
This false allegation goes in line with a wider pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign aiming to blame Western countries for a global food crisis engineered by Russia as part of its unjustified aggression against Ukraine.
Russia's responsibility for the global food crisis comes as a consequence of the unprovoked and unjustified Russian invasion of Ukraine: naval blockade of Ukrainian posts, bombardment of transport infrastructure and shelling of farming regions. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has destabilised global food markets and is driving food prices up due to increased cost of production, transport and freight insurance. Russia has destroyed substantial food stocks, production, as well as processing and transport capacities in Ukraine.
As can be seen from the database of the UN Black Sea Grain Initiative, as of 23 September, out of the 203 shipments, less then half, only 92 - headed to EU countries. The majority headed for other countries like Turkey, Egypt, China, and India. Besides, this doesn’t mean that these are their final destinations, as grain will be redistributed from some of these harbours to other countries.
See also article 15. of the conclusions of the European Council of 20 and 21 October 2022 which states:
Russia, by weaponising food in its war against Ukraine, is solely responsible for the global food security crisis it has provoked. Russia’s war of aggression has triggered disruptions of agricultural production, supply chains and trade that have driven world food and fertiliser prices to unprecedented levels. The EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes have made possible the export of significant volumes of Ukrainian crops, agricultural products and fertilisers to the countries most in need.
See other similar disinformation narratives in our database, such as claims that EU is causing a global food shortage by keeping all the grain from Ukraine; Only 3% of Ukrainian grains end up in poor countries; the rest go to EU countries; The EU kept most of the ships with Ukrainian grain, only 2 went to developing countries.