"Why Ukraine's food exports matter to Indonesia", opinion article by Herve Delphin and Sharon Lennon

This op-ed was published in The Jakarta Post

Why Ukraine’s Food Exports Matter to Indonesia

By Hervé Delphin and Sharon Lennon

For many Indonesians, the war in Ukraine can seem far away. Odesa is thousands of kilometres from Jakarta. But in an interconnected food system, distant events still affect prices at home. When grain ships cannot move safely through the Black Sea, the effects travel through global markets and reach everyday foods, from noodles and bread to biscuits.

That matters for Indonesia, one of the world’s largest wheat importers, with important food security and nutrition priorities. In 2025, it imported around 10.8 million tonnes of wheat and meslin, including almost 870,000 tonnes from Ukraine. In 2024, Ukraine supplied 2.4 million tonnes, roughly one in every five tonnes entering Indonesia.

When Ukraine’s food exports are disrupted, the effects travel far beyond Europe

Ukraine has long been a major agricultural exporter. Before Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, it accounted for roughly 15–17% of global maize exports, 10–12% of wheat exports, around 15–20% of barley exports and about half of sunflower-oil exports. Food for families in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Today, those export routes are again under severe pressure from Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports, commercial shipping and agricultural infrastructure. The United Nations has warned that the growing risks to Black Sea agricultural trade are pressuring global grain markets while food systems are already under strain. It has also called for the protection of civilian ports and freedom of navigation under international law.

The effects are visible. Between 1 and 26 August, Ukraine exported only 1.4 million tonnes of grain, oilseeds and processed agricultural products, around one-third of its potential volume. This pressure on food supply affects prices. In September, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization reported that its Food Price Index rose 1.5% and its Cereal Price Index 5.1%. World wheat prices rose 6.3%, reaching their highest level since August 2023. As climate pressures affect multiple crop-producing regions simultaneously, reliable Black Sea exports are increasingly important to global market stability. Disruption in a major exporting region can have immediate knock-on effects, as energy markets also show.

For Indonesia, this matters, even when wheat does not come directly from Ukraine. Like oil, wheat is traded globally, so when a major supplier becomes harder or more expensive to reach, buyers turn elsewhere, shipping patterns shift, and competition increases. That can mean higher freight costs directly affecting the availability and price of goods in shops.

This connects a port in Ukraine with a bowl of noodles in Indonesia. The effects may not be immediate, but for households and food businesses operating on narrow margins, volatility matters.

Keeping trade moving 

The European Union has responded by helping Ukraine keep trade moving. Since May 2022, the EU–Ukraine Solidarity Lanes have provided alternative rail, road and inland-waterway routes. By July 2026, they had enabled around 230 million tonnes of Ukrainian exports, including approximately 103 million tonnes of agricultural products. 

But these alternatives cannot fully replace maritime trade. In July 2026, around 80% of Ukraine’s exports of grain, oilseeds and related products still travelled through Black Sea ports, compared with around 20% through the Solidarity Lanes. Safe and predictable maritime navigation therefore remains critical. The EU also supported the UN-led Black Sea Grain Initiative, which enabled Ukrainian grain and other food products to reach global markets until Russia withdrew in July 2023.The EU now calls for a new Black Sea grain arrangement protecting grain-export facilities, ports and commercial shipping.

Protecting global food security 

The right to food is recognised as an international legal obligation in the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Indonesia, as President of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), recently spearheaded a landmark resolution on "Enhancing Equal Access of Children to Adequate Nutritious Food." 

Food security is not only about keeping trade routes open; it also means strengthening resilience where food is produced and consumed. Indonesia has put this into practice, having achieved self-sufficiency in rice production last year.  

In 2025, the EU mobilised €2.1 billion worldwide for immediate food-security assistance and longer-term resilience. In Indonesia, that commitment translates into practical cooperation with government, farmers, fishers, businesses and local communities.

Building resilience in Indonesia

Together, the EU and its Member States provide around €50 million in grants to strengthen agricultural value chains in Indonesia. These initiatives help smallholders improve productivity, traceability and resilience.

European-supported programmes also support food security and livelihoods. In eastern Indonesia, sustainable-fisheries initiatives work with around 12,300 fishers and support approximately 82,300 livelihoods. A sustainable-ocean-management package combines €7 million in EU grants with €187.6 million in development financing for ports, research, traceability and coastal resilience.

On land, European cooperation includes an investment of €18.48 million in sustainable agricultural supply chains and a €15 million initiative supporting climate-resilient livelihoods, sustainable farming, access to finance and stronger supply-chain partnerships. 

Other initiatives focus on fortified rice, sustainable cocoa and smallholder resilience. One programme could reach nearly 20,000 producers, while another supports more than 1,600 smallholders, at least 30% of them women.

Together, these projects strengthen Indonesia’s food production, rural and coastal livelihoods, value chains and resilience to climate and market shocks. The next phase of EU–Indonesia relations can accelerate this agenda, with the EU-Indonesia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) creating opportunities for trade, investment, stronger supply chains and closer cooperation on sustainable and resilient food systems.

A shared agenda for Indonesia and the EU

Indonesia is already pursuing stronger domestic production, better logistics, food reserves and more resilient supply chains. The EU can support these efforts through investment, technology, research, sustainable finance and experience across agriculture, fisheries and food systems.

What happens in the Black Sea also matters for EU–Indonesia cooperation. Open trade routes and safe civilian shipping matter, but so do productive farms, sustainable fisheries, stronger value chains and communities better able to absorb shocks.

These messages and concerns reflect a shared Team Europe perspective of the European Union and its Member States represented in Indonesia. Europe and Indonesia share the same practical agenda: keep trade open, strengthen resilience at home, and invest together in food systems that are more sustainable, inclusive and resilient. The way forward is greater resilience, driven by closer cooperation between Indonesia and Europe.

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Hervé Delphin is the Ambassador-designate of the European Union to Indonesia

Sharon Lennon is the Ambassador of Ireland to Indonesia, representing the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union