ST. PETERSBURG, July 27. /TASS/. It is precisely Russia that is making a significant contribution to global food security, with Russia's share in the world wheat market at 20% compared to Ukraine's less-than-5% share, Russian President Vladimir Putin noted in remarks to the Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum.

"Russia's share in the world wheat market is 20%, while Ukraine's share is less than 5%. This means that it is precisely Russia that is making a significant contribution to global food security and is a solid, responsible international supplier of agricultural products," he said at the plenary session of the Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum.

Putin pointed out that those disputing the veracity of this are simply distorting the facts. "They are telling lies. This has been the practice of some Western countries for decades, if not centuries," the president added.

According to him, Ukraine produced about 55 million tons of grain in the last agricultural year, exports of which came to 47 million tons. Of these, 17 million tons were wheat. At the same time, Russia harvested 156 million tons of grain last year and exported 60 million tons, including 48 million tons of wheat.

The second Russia-Africa Summit is taking place at St. Petersburg’s Expoforum on July 27-28, in parallel with economic and humanitarian forums. Similar to the first such summit in 2019, the event is being held under the rubric "For Peace, Security and Development." The event is being organized by the Roscongress Foundation. TASS is the event’s official information partner and photo-hosting agency.