Monday 13/April/2026 – 05:11 PM
A senior Russian official on Monday urged building joint food reserves between Russia, the largest exporter For wheat In the world, other member states of the BRICS group and Russia’s neighbors from the countries of the former Soviet Union, with the aim of addressing the risks threatening global food security resulting from the conflict in the Middle East, according to Reuters.
Building joint food reserves between Russia and BRICS
Growing about half of the world’s food depends on fertilizers, while a third of the global fertilizer trade used to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been almost completely closed since the start of the Israeli-American war on Iran at the end of February.
Local news agencies quoted Alexander Maslennikov, Deputy Secretary of the Russian Security Council, as saying, “To ensure food security, it is very important to expand cooperation with friendly countries, especially the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union and the BRICS group, especially by establishing joint food reserves.”
The Russian Security Council is chaired by President Vladimir Putin, includes senior officials and helps formulate Kremlin decisions on key issues related to national security. Putin is scheduled to meet in the Kremlin on Monday with President Prabowo Subianto of Indonesia, a member of the BRICS group, where food security is likely to be on the agenda.
Maslennikov said that the Middle East crisis poses serious risks to global food security. He added that if the global fertilizer shortage persists into early summer, productivity of major crops could fall by half, leading to a jump in global food price inflation that is the highest in years.
He added that the number of hungry people around the world could rise to a record 673 million people.
