Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown raises concerns about storage of the new harvest in Ukraine whilst 25 million tonnes of old crop is filling up all the stores, and asks the Foreign Secretary what can be done to ensure that there is international passage for that grain out of Odesa and other ports.
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (The Cotswolds) (Con)
The harvest in Ukraine is going to have to start in the next few weeks. The problem is that there are 25 million tonnes of old crop filling up all the stores, so there will be nowhere to put the new crop. It will have to be piled on the fields, and the Russians will seize it and use it as a weapon of war to buy influence around the world. What more can my right hon. Friend do to ensure that there is international passage for that grain out of Odesa and other ports?
Elizabeth Truss (The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs)
We are doing all we can to secure the export of that very important grain from Ukraine. My hon. Friend is right to say that we have only a number of weeks to be able to achieve that. We are backing the UN plan, but we are also doing what we can with our allies to provide safe passage and to make sure that Odesa is fully defended. Tomorrow, I will be travelling to Turkey to talk to people there about how we could do more to get the grain out of Odesa.