‘We have delivered 380,000 tonnes of food to African, Asian countries,’ says Russian PM

Russia has supplied about 380,000 tonnes of food to African and Asian countries as humanitarian aid over the last five years, says Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

Mishustin said this while addressing a plenary session dedicated to the food security of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) at the Belagro 2024 exhibition in Belarus. The high level of Russia’s internal production allows the country to support other nations, he said.

“We do that despite the obstacles created by the collective West in terms of financial servicing of transactions, logistics and insurance. Over the last five years we have supplied approximately 380,000 tonnes of food as humanitarian aid to the countries of Africa and Asia,” the politician said.

In February, Russia finalized the gratuitous transfer of 200,000 tonnes of Russian wheat to six African states, the prime minister added.

“Over 110,000 tonnes of fertilizers have been sent to Malawi, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Nigeria. Unfortunately, due to the actions of ill-wishers, many more fertilizers were detained in the European ports. Though Russia decided to send these shipments free of charge to those in need,” Mishustin said.

The EAEU members plan to extend the current mechanism for agricultural exports for another year, the prime minister said.

Mishustin said the export policies of the EAEU member states were similar, adding that a transition to a common policy in this field will enable joint action to increase profits for all the members, instead of competition.

The EAEU consists of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia and three observer states – Moldova, Uzbekistan and Cuba. The Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union was signed in 2014. The main objective of the bloc is to ensure the free movement of goods, services and labor among member states.

Sputnik