(Fredrikstad Blad): Paulsrud (62) drives farm with as much as 150,000 acres near the city of Zhytomyr in Ukraine, west of the capital Kyiv, and now the harvest is in full swing. But it is very difficult to get the foodstuffs shipped out: wheat, barley, maize, rapeseed and soya.
– How much have you shipped out so far?
– Nothing for now, but we have good hope of finding a solution this week, says Paulsrud, who has been a number of times in Ukraine also after Russia went full invasion in February last year.
Read also: UN: Unacceptable with threats against civilian vessels in the Black Sea
Looks dark for shipping
Paulsrud’s companies in the country produce around 100,000 tonnes of food products a year, which are sold on the world market and which are mainly transported out by ship.
– It looks very dark for ship transport from the ports of Ukraine. Russia’s termination of the agreement with Turkey and the UN, and destruction of port terminals, could lead to a global famine and further destroy Ukraine’s economy. Ukraine is one of the world’s largest grain exporters, and millions of people depend on food from the country, he tells Fredriksstad Blad.
Paulsrud says that he is trying to find free railcars that can transport the goods out of Ukraine, via Poland, and the port of Gdansk. He considers it impossible to get the foodstuffs shipped out via Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea. There are no alternative routes of importance by sea for large quantities of foodstuffs. The solution is therefore trains.
Read also: Igor Girkin has been apprehended and arrested
No layoffs
But this is not easy either, with an ongoing war, a lot of capacity is used to transport military equipment and crews.
– Have you had to resign or lay off employees because of the difficult situation?
– No, we have our people working. Several of the employees have been drafted into the Ukrainian armed forces, so we have fewer employees than normal. The others are working as before, he says.
– You are not afraid to be in Ukraine while the war is raging?
– No, I’m not afraid. We must continue the work even if it is warhe says.
In recent years, Paulsrud has built up a larger business in Ukraine, within the agricultural industry, with around 300 employees.
Will take months to repair
On the night of Wednesday this week, Russia attacked the port area in Odesa and, according to the Ukrainian authorities, destroyed grain silos containing 60,000 tonnes of grain. The attacks have continued throughout the week, starting shortly after the grain deal that has enabled Ukraine to export grain via the Black Sea expired because Russia withdrew from it.
– Terminals are damaged, and we have learned that it will take several months to repair these. That it is no longer possible to export grain from the ports in the Black Sea is a further escalation of the war, says Paulsrud on the phone from Ukraine.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has the following comment on Russia’s withdrawal from the grain agreement:
– I condemn Russia’s unilateral decision to withdraw from the grain agreement in the Black Sea, despite the efforts of our ally Turkey and the UN, Stoltenberg says on Twitter.
– Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine continues to harm millions of vulnerable people around the world, he says further.
Will lead to huge food crisis
EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell also says that Russia is responsible for a global food crisis as a result of the country withdrawing from the agreement on grain exports from Ukraine:
– We know that this will cause an enormous food crisis in the world, says Josep Borrell.
The EU’s foreign affairs chief also accuses Russia of having deliberately attacked grain warehouses in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa earlier this week, which will further worsen the food crisis.
Halts in shipping and attacks on ports will cause the price of grain and other foodstuffs to rise sharply on the world market, which will make it even more difficult for the poor to buy food.
Also read: To release the Wagner soldiers: – Marks the bloodiest battles in modern history
2023-07-22 15:25:50
#Roar #Paulsrud #find #tonnes #food #Ukraine
