Macron Expects Global Food Crisis to Last Longer Than Conflict in Ukraine

PARIS (Sputnik) - The global food crisis will last longer than the military conflict in Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday.

"The war [in Ukraine] will last for a long time. And destabilization in the food market will last even longer... Therefore, we must continue to respond to this crisis situation. After all, in six, 12, 18 months, the consequences of the war will not disappear," Macron said at a meeting on global food security in Cameroon, where he had arrived for an official visit.

According to the French leader, it is necessary to continue to provide the population with good quality products and develop sustainable agriculture.

World leaders and international organizations have been raising concerns over an imminent and large-scale food crisis since the start of Russia's military operation in Ukraine in February. They have cited disruptions to supply chains, soaring prices, derailed crop production in one of the largest grain-producing regions in the world, and accused Russia of blocking grain shipments in Ukraine's Black Sea ports.

Russia has pointed out that the maritime mines planted by Ukrainian troops at the entry to the Black Sea ports had prevented merchant ships from safely getting grain out of Ukraine.

Last week, Istanbul hosted the signing of multilateral UN-brokered agreements on lifting restrictions on the logistics of Russian food exports and on Moscow's assistance in the export of Ukrainian grain. The deal unlocks commercial food exports across the Black Sea from three ports — Odesa, Chornomorsk, and Yuzhne.