International organizations call on world countries to ease trade restrictions

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, supply chain issues, and the fallout from Russia's military operations in Ukraine have significantly disrupted food, fuel, and fertilizer markets, says the joint statement by the heads of the World Bank, UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Food Program (WFP) and World Trade Organization (WTO), Report informs.

According to the WFP, 345 million people in 82 countries may face food shortages: "This situation has worsened as about 25 countries have restricted the export of food products. As a result, the price of fertilizers has doubled in the last year."

The heads of the listed organizations proposed the implementation of these measures to prevent the deepening of the crisis: support for trade and international food supply; emergency assistance to vulnerable groups of the population; production expansion; allocation of financial resources to agriculture.