The Agriculture Ministers of the wealthy Western industrial countries and the European Union promised this weekend to take action against the shortage and rising costs of fertilizer. This was agreed by the G7 countries and the EU during their summit in Germany last weekend.
The United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the European Union have agreed to expand the funding of the global Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS). This FAO oversight body currently monitors the markets for wheat, corn, rice, and soybeans. It will now also track supply and global stocks, including the availability of fertilizer.
AMIS must do more of what it already does, but it must also monitor global prices and stocks of fertilizer, said US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. Many of us believe there is speculation in the grain markets, he added.
When markets are tight and information is unclear, there is a greater chance that countries panic and take actions such as banning the export of grain or fertilizer, which only worsens the situation, said Joe Glauber, who serves as interim secretary of AMIS, to the American Agri-Pulse.
International banking sanctions against Russia and Belarus following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, along with imposed Russian export restrictions, have halted a large part of the international fertilizer supply.
In addition, the G7 and the EU have expressed their support for the United Nations’ plan to establish a global Crisis Response Group for Food, Energy and Finance.
The geopolitical landscape has fundamentally changed due to the Russian war against Ukraine. Combined with the Russian blockade of Ukrainian grain, the world faces worsening food insecurity and malnutrition. This happens at a time when 43 million people were one step away from famine, the G7 and the EU concluded.