Vladimir Putin Says Western Sanctions On Russia Will Cause A Global Food Shortage

Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed that Western sanctions on Russia could cause a global food crisis among the world’s poorer countries. 

The Kremlin chief believes Russia may have to cut their food exports to hostile nations in order to prevent such a crisis from happening. 

The sanctions placed on Russia since the February 24 invasion of Ukraine have caused the country's worst economic crisis since the fall of the Soviet Union.

Not only that, but it's also resulted in the world suffering increasing energy and petrol prices.

Putin has warned that the West could be in a position to buy up supplies due to the higher energy prices and shortage of fertilisers, meaning there would be a shortage of food among the less privileged nations.  

In a meeting, Putin said: “They will inevitably exacerbate food shortages in the poorest regions of the world, spur new waves of migration and in general drive food prices even higher.

"In these current conditions, a shortage of fertilisers on the global market is inevitable.

"We will have to be more careful about food supplies abroad, especially carefully monitor the exports to countries which are hostile to us."

Just last week, Russia’s security council deputy chairman Dmitry Medvedev warned Russia could limit their supply of agricultural products to friendly nations only.

He took to social media, saying: “We will only be supplying food and agriculture products to our friends.

"Fortunately we have plenty of them, and they are not in Europe or North America at all."

Russia is the largest exporter of wheat in the world. They also produce 13 per cent of the world's fertilisers, sending out more than 50 million tonnes a year. 

Russia mainly supplies wheat to Africa and the Middle East, with the European Union and Ukraine the main competitors in the wheat trade. 

The sanctions have disrupted the supply of fertilisers from Russia to Belarus, while higher prices of gas have made the production of fertiliser elsewhere more expensive. 

According to Time, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has all but shut down grain exports from the region already, seeing food prices dramatically increase. 

Putin had warned the West in early March that the sanctions imposed on Russia were 'akin to an act of war'.

Major consumer brands such as McDonald’s, Starbucks, KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Nestle, and Coca-Cola have already halted operations in Russia.