External Affairs Minister S. Jaisankar warned at the Asian Society meeting about the possible emergence of a serious global food crisis in the coming months. He noted that due to conflicts in Ukraine and Iran, as well as in the Persian Gulf, the world is already facing an acute food shortage.
According to Jaisankar, these two military conflicts have had a deep and tense impact on the economies of Global South countries, i.e., developing nations. He also expressed serious concern regarding the security of oil supplies and the political situation surrounding it.
Jaisankar emphasized that the energy situation is the biggest concern, as the oil market is already under extreme strain. Oil-related policies are leading to price increases, whereas stabilization of costs is currently necessary. He pointed out that supply security issues and oil policy reinforce each other, creating a double or more severe crisis.
Regarding the food crisis, he stated that some major grain exporters may not ship their consignments, especially from the Black Sea. The global food deficit is exacerbated by the fact that major producers are located in West Asia and Russia, where production has suffered.
Furthermore, Jaisankar warned that a major food crisis could occur in the coming months due to weather events such as super El Niño. According to him, there is a triple problem: an acute energy shortage, followed by a food and agricultural crisis, and a third problem—financial. In times of conflict, money moves into safe havens and moves away from the Global South.
He called on decision-makers not to excuse themselves by saying that such circumstances were not their intention. Jaisankar noted that countries should not be so selfish as to make decisions while remaining within their own world and claiming they did not intend to create problems. He stressed that common sense must guide actions so that the basic needs of many countries are not ignored to the extent that they fall into distress. India is concerned precisely about this issue.
The Congress party reacted to Jaisankar's remarks through its social media account on X. Congress wrote that Minister Narendra Modi had reported an impending food crisis in the coming months. The party noted that the country is already battling an energy crisis and experiencing an acute food shortage, and now the threat of a food crisis looms. Congress added that if Narendra Modi had acted timely, this crisis would not have happened, but it questioned when he would think about the country when free from 'jingle bells'.