Crypto News: Supply Lines: Ukraine’s crop troubles

It's not just the war that's complicating Ukrainian farmers' attempts to get their harvests out of the country.

The latest setbacks include a storm in the Black Sea, which halted loadings earlier this week from key ports in the region. On top of that, French sugar-beet growers have joined a chorus of disgruntled farmers in the European Union fretting over the impact of Ukrainian supplies.

They're demanding that rising sugar imports from Ukraine be re-exported outside Europe to avoid hurting local producers. It echoes similar tensions over a surge in grain flows into the EU from Ukraine, which has sought alternative routes with Black Sea trade stifled.

While that's happening, Kyiv is doubling down on efforts to ship out crops through the crucial waterway. Special convoys will accompany vessels carrying key exports, including foodstuffs, via the Black Sea to ensure safe passage. Ukraine has opened its own corridor to allow ships to haul commodities from its deep-sea ports in so-called Greater Odesa after Russia pulled the plug on a UN-backed grain deal.

Russian missile and drone attacks continue to offer a reminder of the risks that shippers face. Earlier this month, a ship hired by agricultural giant Cargill was damaged by an explosion, days after another vessel was hit.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin is making its own play in the grains market.

Russian shipments of donated grain are due to begin landing in Africa, giving fresh impetus to its bid to bolster its influence in the continent. President Vladimir Putin promised to send free grain to six African countries that have strong ties with Moscow at a Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg in July.

More Food for Thought

The COP28 climate summit is underway and food should play a more prominent role this year. A total 134 countries have pledged to include food transformation into their national reduction and adaptation plans.

In a first, the gathering will have a day dedicated to food, agriculture and water on Dec. 10. For comprehensive coverage of the climate summit, sign up for the Green Daily newsletter.

—Agnieszka de Sousa in London

Eat less meat | The world's most-developed nations will be told to curb their excessive appetite for meat as part of the first comprehensive plan to bring the global agri-food industry into line with the Paris climate agreement. The global food systems' road map to 1.5C is expected to be published by the UN's Food & Agriculture Organization during the COP28 summit. Nations that over-consume meat will be advised to limit their intake, while developing countries — where under-consumption of meat adds to a prevalent nutrition challenge — will need to improve their livestock farming, according to the FAO. (Read full story here).

There's a climate crisis playing out across Ivory Coast and Ghana, the heavyweights of cocoa, with consequences for global food inflation and the cost-of-living squeeze.
Chinese farmers in some provinces are being forced to let fresh vegetables rot in their fields due to weak demand and ample supply, according to a local news report and videos posted on social media.
India's cabinet on Wednesday approved a proposal to spend 11.8 trillion rupees ($142 billion) to extend a free food program for about 800 million beneficiaries for five years.
Rice prices are on track for a new 15-year high, threatening to spark more angst in Asia and Africa where the grain is the staple for billions.
India and China are key coffee markets for Nestle, with the food giant bullish on the outlook for consumption growth in the world's most populous countries.
The historic drought in the Brazilian Amazon has imperiled the livelihoods of small farmers and fishermen and slowed shipments of grains and goods.
A deadly fungus threatens to wipe out the Cavendish, the world's most consumed banana, whose best hope may be genetic modification.

Deflation in agricultural markets is starting to gain some momentum thanks to the biggest-ever US corn crop, which has piled up in the American countryside, Bloomberg News reports.
Top agricultural commodities trader Cargill is expanding its commitment to buying deforestation-free crops in South America, including supplies it purchases from other merchants and traders, Bloomberg News reports.
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