Ukraine’s government has banned the export of agricultural goods that are a crucial part of global food supplies.
The ban will prevent the export of oats, millet, buckwheat, sugar, live cattle, and meat and other “byproducts” from cattle, according to a report from the Associated Press.
Roman Leshchenko, Ukraine’s minister of agrarian and food policy, said in a statement posted to Facebook that the export ban is necessary to prevent a humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.
“To warn of the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, the stability of the market and the meeting of the population in critical food products, the Government has established new rules for export of agricultural goods,” the statement said, according to the platform’s translation.
Leshchenko wrote that wheat and “a mixture of wheat and rye,” corn, chicken, eggs, and sunflower oil can still be shipped out with an export permit.
“Everything else not mentioned in the list can be exported freely according to the standard procedure,” the post added.
In a follow-up post, Leshchenko explained that manufacturers must apply to the Ministry of Economy for a permit to export goods that are not banned, but limited.
The AP report notes that “Russia and Ukraine together supply nearly a third of the world’s wheat and barley exports, which have soared in price since the invasion.”
“The products they send are made into bread, noodles and animal feed around the world, and any shortages could create food insecurity in places like Egypt and Lebanon,” the report continued. “The export ban will likely reduce global food supplies just when prices are at their highest level since 2011.”
