Opinion: Ukraine ag fuel crucial

OPINION PIECE - TIME magazine

Europe’s breadbasket farmers, and delivery truck companies, in the Ukraine are out of diesel fuel. Two weeks into the Russian assault supply chains are disrupted and critical shortages of fuel is pushing Ukraine’s agricultural sector toward collapse. If it does not secure diesel soon, Europe could face massive price spikes for agricultural commodities and challenging food shortages. Russia is scaring off diesel deliveries Black Sea ports while Ukraine is having to divert some of its fuel to the military. To be clear, Ukraine’s diesel shortage is not due to sanctions on Russian oil and gas. It will not improve by more sanctions. Ukrainian agricultural fuel suppliers are ready to make a deal through European rival traders. Numerous rivals have joined to increase their purchasing power and have logistics prepared for diesel deliveries to Polish or Romanian ports. Suppliers elsewhere in Europe or Americas could also deliver for Ukraine. Or … foreign governments could supply Ukraine with diesel. NATO could tap its Support and Procurement Organization (NSPO) network of 50,000-plus contracting firms to help. The U.S. could release some of its 1M barrels of diesel at its Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Jersey. Other countries also keep some diesel in reserve, but specific numbers of stockpiled refined petroleum products versus crude oil are hard to come by. Getting Ukraine diesel for the agricultural sector should be a priority for other countries and the U.S. Food prices are already at global record highs - wheat in particular. If Ukraine’s farmers miss this planting season food prices will rise enough to trigger global hunger to vulnerable populations and even more than the 8 percent inflation on U.S. consumers. (Source: TIME Opinion by Suriya Jayanti 03/15/22) Ukraine’s Growing Fuel Crisis Will Cause Global Hunger and Worsen Inflation (msn.com)

Opinion writer’s background: Jayanti, born in Los Angeles in November 1982, is an American diplomat at the U.S. Department of State who served as the Energy Unit Chief at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine, from 2018-202d. She is considered an international energy legal and policy expert on Eastern Europe. Her geopolitical focus is on energy and strategic energy policy. Currently based in Washington, D.C., Ms. Jayanti served in the U.S. Diplomatic Corps for almost a decade, with tours in Kuwait, the Bahamas, Iraq, Ukraine and Washington. Before joining the Foreign Service, Jayanti worked as a freelance reporter for the Daily Star in Beirut, Lebanon.