Jaishankar Warns of Major Food Crisis as Conflicts Hit Global South
S. Jaishankar warns of a major food crisis in coming months, citing fertiliser shortages and energy market stress from the Ukraine and Iran-Gulf conflicts.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has warned that the world could face a major food crisis in the coming months, compounding the fertiliser shortages already being felt across the Global South because of the Ukraine and Iran-Gulf conflicts.
Speaking at a conversation hosted by the Asia Society in New York on Monday, Mr. Jaishankar said the two conflicts had dealt a devastating blow to the economies of the Global South. He described the overall situation as very stressful for these countries.
On food security, the minister said some of the world's major grain exporters would be unable to send out their shipments, particularly through the Black Sea. He also pointed to significant fertiliser shortages, noting that key producers are located in West Asia and Russia, where production has been affected.
Mr. Jaishankar said climate patterns, including a super El Niño, would add to the pressure, and that a major food crisis was likely in the coming months.
Turning to energy, he said the market was very tight and that political manoeuvring over supplies would push prices higher at a time when they should be stabilising. He said the security of oil supplies and the politics of oil supplies were feeding into each other, creating what he called a double or aggravated crisis.
He also flagged the financial dimension, noting that money tends to move towards safe havens and away from the Global South whenever conflicts break out. The combined effect of an energy crunch, food and fertiliser shortages, and reduced financial flows, he said, has been very stressful.
The minister said policymakers could not claim such outcomes were unintended, and that countries should not be so self-centred as to ignore the difficulties their decisions create for others. Sound common sense, he added, should prevent the basic needs of a large number of countries from being neglected to the point of distress.
Mr. Jaishankar said the energy crisis was generating instability, pointing to political instability in India's neighbourhood after the Ukraine war. He expressed concern that developments in Iran and the Gulf would aggravate the situation further.
On how countries respond to pressure, he said some would maintain their independence and autonomy while others would find it harder to do so. He added that the response would not be black and white and would depend on the issue and the stakes involved, with some countries making adjustments and others pushing back.