This week Argentina, the world’s third largest corn exporter, announced it will stop corn exports until Feb. 28 as part of its plans to assure supplies for its domestic food chain. On Dec. 15, Russia, the world’s largest wheat exporter, announced that a tax will be placed on wheat exports, to go into effect some time after Feb. 15, and continue through June 30 (the end of the wheat trade year), to dampen exports, which already have a pre-existing limit of 7 million metric tons this year. Russian agriculture and economy officials stated that they want to prevent inflation of domestic wheat prices to millers.
These moves, from sovereign governments, to provide for their domestic security, contribute to potential world food insecurity, not because of their exercise of responsibility, but because they are doing so in the absence of international collaboration on agriculture and food. Many food-import-dependent nations now face impossible prices to import food, or no food available at any price. The World Food Program and private agencies don’t have the resources to make up the gap. This points up the urgency for a game-changer initiative for major power leaders—the U.S., China, Russia to confer on the famine emergency, the pandemic and all matters of security.