Because otherwise there are serious consequences, Beasley tells CNN: “Millions of people worldwide will die.”
He was asked what he would like to say to Putin: “If you have any kind of heart for the rest of the world, whatever you feel for Ukraine, you should open those ports.”
Ukraine is a major food exporter, especially grain, but due to the war, large quantities of this important food item have been stored with no place to go. This threatens to lose crops and this can lead to a lot of hunger, experts warn, including Beasley.
60 days
He warns that the ports must be operational within 60 days, otherwise the Ukrainian agricultural economy will implode. However, it is questionable whether Putin thinks it a bad prospect that “Ukrainian economy is on the brink of collapse”. The ports are critical, emphasizes Beasley.
Ukraine is one of the world’s top five exporters of a number of key agricultural products, including corn, wheat and barley, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
In 2021, agricultural products made up 41 percent of all exports, CNN writes.
Joe Biden previously said an estimated 20 million tons of grain are trapped in silos in the war-ravaged country. Many Africans will die if this continues, he emphasizes.