Bangladeshi businesses expressed concerns  about the growing risk that  Bangladesh and other countries may face if the Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI) is not renewed beyond 17 July expiry date.

Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) president Md. Jashim Uddin, Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) president Md. Sameer Sattar,

The BSGI facilitated, to date, more than 32 million tonnes of foodstuffs to be exported from three Ukrainian ports to 45 countries across three continents – with the proportion of wheat exported through the Black Sea to the least developed economies remaining largely unchanged from pre-war levels.

As a direct result of this trade through the Black Sea – as well as exports of food and fertilisers from the Russian Federation – the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations reports that global food prices have dropped by 22 percent since March 2022.

Crucially, the World Food Programme is once again procuring wheat from Ukraine at the same volumes as in 2021 – purchasing nearly 700,000 tonnes through the Black Sea Grain Initiative to support humanitarian operations in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

Continued facilitation of Ukrainian and Russian exports of food and fertilisers thus remains crucial to global food security.

By extension, any lapse in the BSGI risks severely jeopardising the availability and affordability of food for millions around the world: a situation that will have truly damaging social, economic and – above all – human consequences.