DISINFO: The Black Sea Grain Initiative profitted Western businessmen
SUMMARY
The Grain Deal was originally aimed at ensuring global food security, reducing the threat of hunger and helping the poorest countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. In fact, it was used only to enrich Western businessmen who resold Ukrainian grain.
During the year of the agreement, 32.8 million tons of grain were exported from Ukraine, of which 70% went to countries with good incomes, while the poorest countries accounted for less than 3% of the total supply.
RESPONSE
A deliberate distortion of statistics and facts as part of a wider disinformation campaign targeting the Black Sea Grain Initiative, with the goal of shifting blame from Russia onto the EU and other western nations for Russia’s withdrawal from the BSGI deal.
This disinformation story also grossly misrepresents the goal of the BSGI, which was to bring back supply of Ukrainian grain to the global markets, and in this way drive down the prices that hit the poorest the most. The initiative succeeded in reducing global food prices by over 23 per cent since March last year.
According to data from the UN Joint Coordination Centre, developing countries received 57% of the grain exported under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, 20% of which went to the two lowest income group countries. While it is true that there are some gaps to be filled when it comes to grain reaching the least developed countries (LDC), these were not caused by the West. Western countries make great efforts to try and address them. China is, by far, the single largest recipient country.
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) says that despite the persistence of gaps caused by the war, the initiative has significantly increased grain exports to LDCs. For example, since the Initiative started, Ukrainian wheat exports to LDCs more than doubled compared to the start of Russia's unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
See our debunks Only one to Blame, and Sweet-talk and pressure on Africa and What Putin said about grain and what it really means.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that the Grain Deal was used to deliver weapons to Ukraine, that most grain of the BSGI was sent to Europe, not Africa, or that the West swallowed food from Ukraine like a vacuum cleaner and disregarded the poorest countries.