Thank you very much.
Honourable members of Parliament, it is an honour for me and indeed for the European Union to contribute today to your reflection on the impact of Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine.
This unwarranted invasion of Ukraine by Russia has once again shown how like-minded the European Union and Canada are in their assessment and in their reaction to the crisis. The European Union, like Canada, has adopted several sanctions packages against Russia, Russian entities and Russian nationals who support this war. The European Union, like Canada, is in parallel assessing the severe consequences that this war is having on the world, including on global food security.
In my remarks today, I will present three main points, first, our assessment of the situation in the European Union; second, our response; and third, how Canada as a like-minded country forms an integral part of the EU's response.
First of all, our assessment of the war in Ukraine in general is that this is really a man-made crisis and that Russia's threats and actions prove that Russia is using food, as it is using energy, as a geopolitical weapon, disregarding the lives and the well-being of people in Russia, in Ukraine and elsewhere. This war in Ukraine endangers the food security of millions of people around the world, and it is already affecting people in many countries. The first victims are obviously vulnerable populations around the world, particularly in low-income countries that depend on food and fertilizer imports.
This invasion is driving food prices up due to the increased cost of production, transport and freight insurance. Fertilizer prices have soared, including in the EU, and severely restrict their affordability for smallholder farmers in developing countries and in the EU.
Russia has also destroyed substantial food stocks production, as you heard earlier, as well as processing and transport capacities in Ukraine. We believe that the Russian military is deliberately targeting the Ukrainian agriculture sector. When Russia bombs Ukrainian fields and destroys and loots food storage, and when Russian warships block Black Sea trade routes, it not only affects Ukrainian wheat and grain exports. It also directly negatively impacts the daily lives of people in Africa and Asia.
As you heard before, the numbers may be a bit different, but our assessment is that Ukraine accounts for 10% of the world wheat market, 13% of the barley market, 15% of the maize market and over 50% of the world's sunflower oil market. We estimate that 49% of winter wheat, 38% of rye and 63% of corn to be harvested this summer is situated in zones that are at risk. Between 20% and 30% of the areas under winter cereal, maize and sunflower seed production in Ukraine will either remain unharvested or not be planted this spring. The consequence of this is that food is missing or becoming very expensive.
Some grain-producing countries are introducing export quotas. In addition, Russia, Belarus and China have announced export restrictions or bans on fertilizers and fertilizers' components, and the European Union, of course, is vigorously opposed to such trade restrictions.
Now, for us in the European Union, there is no immediate threat to food security because the European Union is a big producer and a net exporter of cereals, but the immediate impact rather lies in the increase of costs throughout the food supply chain and in the disruption of trade flows from and to Ukraine and Russia, as well as the impact on global food security.
If you take the EU's neighbourhood in North Africa and in the Middle East, both availability and affordability are at risk in wheat, which is their basic food staple. The same is true in sub-Saharan African and in Asia.
The European member states meeting in Versailles in mid-March 2022 called upon the European Commission to take urgent action to present options to address the rising food prices and the issue of global food security. On March 23, the European Commission adopted a communication on safeguarding food security and reinforcing the resilience of food systems.
Let me briefly take you through the actions that this communication sets out.
First, it presents our immediate actions to safeguard food security in Ukraine and around the world.
Second, we addressed the challenge of food stability in the EU food system with a range of measures to support our farmers and maintain affordability for our citizens.
Finally, we confirm the European agenda to make our food system sustainable and resilient for the years to come.
In the interest of time, I'll only cover the first two points, but I'm happy to answer questions about the rest.
Helping third countries and, of course, Ukraine—