BBC – The Inquiry produced a podcast stating that key export routes are blocked due to blockades by Russia against Ukraine as part of Russia’s war strategy. Governments are nervous. Dozens of countries stopped or restricted international food sales. Senior research fellow David Laborde said, “For example, Millions of people depend on Indonesia for palm oil (a basic food product); we have seen export bans on wheat from Central Asia, Malaysia has banned poultry exports to Singapore.” Underpinning all of this is food security. “It is a quantity concept—the amount of grains available; do you have the economic means to buy this food—the price question; do you have daily availability or will there be lean times?”
A number of companies in Indonesia stop producing palm oil and they are waiting to see bans lifted. He said, “Governments are more focused on getting the urban populations at ease even if it means sacrificing income for farmers.” “Banning exports can make your country look bad. You will be seen as an unreliable trade partner. Companies will not invest in your country. You can undermine your countries.” Laborde concluded that “Any new export restrictions can be difficult on developing countries. Still, we are not talking about famine. On a global scale, we were talking about rising food and security and that still can be an impact on millions of people. Next year we could be talking about shortages.”