EAM S Jaishankar Raises Concern Over Likely Food Crisis

While the El Niño raises concern over the likely adverse impact on food production during the present Kharif and upcoming rabi season in India, the External Affairs Minister warned of a “major food crisis” in the coming months, in addition to the already significant fertiliser shortages the world is witnessing due to the Ukraine and Iran conflicts.

Speaking at an event hosted at Asia Society on Monday in New York, Jaishankar said the situation is “very very stressful” for Global South economies. He said the Ukraine conflict and now the Iran-Gulf conflict had a devastating impact on Global South economies.

He expressed concern in particular about the energy situation. The EAM said the “market is very tight.” While part of it is supplies issue, politics is another party that is feeding into each other, resulting in a double crisis.

Jaishankar said if the situation does not change, “major grain exporters will struggle to send out their shipments, particularly out to the Black Sea.” He said the key producers of fertilisers were in West Asia and Russia, and the troubled geopolitical condition has impacted their production.

Combined with impacts of climate patterns like a super El Nino, Jaishankar said, “there is going to be a major food crisis probably in the coming months. So, if you have energy as a big crunch, and then food and fertilisers on top of it, and finance because every time there’s a conflict, money moves towards safe harbours and away from the Global South.

Jaishankar said, “Countries should not be so self-centred that you’re in your own world and take your decision and say, ‘Well, it was not my intention to make your life difficult’.”