Almost four months into the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, there is no going around this: rising oil and gas prices and the global food crisis are due to the economic sanctions regime being imposed by the United States and the European Union on Russia.
The Filipino public continue to suffer under a weekly round of oil price hikes, with hapless jeepney driver and operators bringing home a measly P300 per day for twelve hours of plying their usual routes.
This is less than Metro Manila’s daily minimum wage of PHP 570.
Exacerbating this is the current PHP:USD exchange rate at PHP 54.065, which translates into imports being more expensive, and foreign debt more difficult to service.
More importantly, the country’s inflation could rise to 8% as long as the Ukraine conflict continues, according to Albay Rep. Joey Salceda.
Salceda said the national government has to focus on ensuring food security and the protection of poor Filipinos as prices of commodities soar.
He added that the bulk of inflationary pressure comes in the form of rising prices in transportation and energy.
On the other hand, agriculture groups are already sounding the alarm on an actual food crisis in the coming months as a result of tightening agricultural global supply.
Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. President Danilo Fausto said many problems around the world – particularly the Ukraine-Russia crisis – will take a toll on domestic food supplies. He expects there may be a food shortage in the country by the fourth quarter of the year, which is a holiday season.
Fausto added: “A lot of countries are banning their export to the Philippines in order to protect their own economic and food security, where do we get the food if we do not have the production?”
Incoming Socio-Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan also acknowledged the current food crisis.
“Food prices have risen,” he said, adding this could continue in the coming months as countries exporting agricultural products are considering adjusting the quantity of the products that they will export and prioritizing their citizens.
Agriculture Secretary William Dar earlier clarified that the country has a sufficient supply of rice, vegetables, and fish for now.
He said that the next administration must put a premium on cushioning the impact of the inevitable limitation of food resources, considering the effects of the pandemic and the continuing Ukraine-Russia conflict.
However, what has not been extensively discussed is the impact of economic sanctions in the prices of oil, gas and food products.
More than the conflict, economic sanctions have placed difficulties on states to enter into bilateral contracts with sanctioned states and diffuse the current prices pressures on critical commodities.
Economic sanctions on Russia essentially prohibits other states from transacting with Russian companies which had previously provided oil, gas and agricultural supplies to its foreign partners.
With these sanctions, these foreign partners are forced to look for other sources of these commodities in the international market under a situation of limited supply.
The resulting consequence is clear: High prices for these critical commodities, and exporting states protecting their own supplies.
With varying sanctions continuing as a result of the conflict, there is little hope that the global food crisis will be resolved anytime soon.
In order to resolve the food crisis immediately, all forms of economic sanctions as a result of prosecuting the conflict in Ukraine should stop in the soonest time.
This will allow agricultural goods to flow smoothly through various ports and ensure stable supply for the world.