DISINFO: The BSGI became a business for EU countries who hoarded the grain
SUMMARY
The [Black Sea Grain Initiative] deal was planned as a humanitarian initiative, but this has become a business for the same people as always, who filled their pockets at the expense of those in need. According to UN figures, among the five top receptors in the Black Sea Grain Initiative are several countries of the European Union that received 38% of the grain altogether.
RESPONSE
This is 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. The baseless allegation that the BSGI has become “a business” for EU or rich countries is not backed by any evidence.
The distortion is underlined by the ambiguous phrasing, as well as by a map showing the EU as a whole as the main receptor of the grain, while in reality only three European countries are among the top destinations of these exports. This disinformation story also grossly misrepresents the goal of the BSGI, which was to bring back supply of Ukrainian grains to the global markets, and this way drive down the prices that hit the poorest the most. The initiative succeeded in reducing the global food prices by over 23 per cent since March last year.
According to data from the the UN Joint Coordination Centre, developing countries received 57% of the grains 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 grains reaching the least developed countries (LDC), these were not caused by the West and in fact Western countries expend great effort 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 exports of grains to LDCs. For example, since the Initiative started, Ukrainian wheat exports to LDCs more than doubled compared to the start of the 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. See also our accounts of the recent Russian disinfo claims by end of July 2023 here and here as well as our debunk of Putin's article to the Russia-Africa summit.
This disinformation story appeared in the same TV programme as the claim that “Accusing Russia of causing hunger is cheap propaganda, the fault lies in the West”