Kiev. Ukraine. Ukraine Gate – January 24, 2021 – Economy
About 80 WTO members (including EU member states), including Ukraine, supported the Joint Statement, which stipulates that these WTO members will not apply bans and restrictions on food exports if purchased for non-commercial humanitarian purposes by the World Food Program.
It was decided to announce the joint statement after the members of the WTO General Council in December 2020 failed to find a compromise to make a decision that would be binding on all members of the organization.
The statement by WTO members is important in view of the situation resulting from the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, which leads to increased uncertainty in agricultural markets and the deterioration of the world’s poor, in particular as a result of restrictions on agricultural exports.
Measures that restrict exports, even those that can be justified under WTO rules, disrupt regional and global supply chains, reduce incentives for agricultural production, cause instability and rising prices, can lead to food shortages and threaten global food security.
“We appreciate the efforts of the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) to tackle world hunger and food shortages, improve food security and living standards for the most vulnerable in the most critical moments of their lives. At the same time, we recognize that export restrictions hamper humanitarian aid. “, – commented the Minister of Economy Igor Petrashko.
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