Farmers in Ukraine, the breadbasket of Europe, have run out of fuel. Two weeks into Russia’s assault on Ukraine supply chains are disrupted and a critical shortage of fuel for tractors and trucks is pushing Ukraine’s agricultural sector toward collapse. If it does not secure diesel soon, Europe could face massive price spikes for agricultural commodities and challenging food shortages.
As has been widely reported, Ukraine is a major agricultural powerhouse. Between 2018 and 2020, it produced 49.6% of global sunflower oil, 10% of global wheat, 12.6% of global barley, and 15.3% of global maize. Ukraine is also a top producer of eggs, potatoes, rye, other grains, and even cheese. For Europe, Ukraine in a given year is either the third or fourth biggest source of agricultural imports. According to Nazar Bobitski, head of Ukraine’s Business and Trade Association in Brussels, Ukraine supplies 88% of Europe’s sunflower oil, 41% of its rapeseed, and 26% of its honey. The Middle East even more at risk of food shortages due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Lebanon, for example, gets over 80% of its wheat from Ukraine and has now banned the export of “foodstuffs” to protect itself.
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What is not being widely reported is the degree to which the looming collapse of the Ukrainian agriculture sector is due to fuel shortages. Farmers need fuel, mostly diesel, to power their tractors, plows, combines, and delivery trucks. Now, with Russia scaring off diesel deliveries to Black Sea ports while Ukraine is forced to divert some of its fuel to military defense of the country, none is left for agriculture.
Taras Panasyuk, Commercial Director for West Oil Group (WOG), one of Ukraine’s top retail fuel companies, said the “situation is really very serious.” Planting season starts in a few weeks, but farmers do not have fuel to sow the fields and have no confidence that they will have fuel with which to harvest later in the year. An agricultural official…
Source : time
