Image Credit: ALEXEY NIKOLSKY/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images 
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree blocking certain exports and raw materials from leaving Russia until December 31, 2022.
“In order to ensure the safety and smooth functioning of the industry, I decided…To ensure the application of the following special economic measures until December 31, 2022,” the decree says.
These include “a ban on exports outside of the Russian Federation’s territory and (or) imports to the Russian Federation’s territory of products and (or) raw materials according to lists determined by the Russian government,” which will take effect immediately.
The Russian Federation added it “will define the list of states to be covered by these decisions within two weeks.”
The restrictions will purportedly not affect goods and raw materials that Russians, foreigners or stateless persons will import or export from the country for personal use.
The following table lays out Russia’s top 20 exports (in millions of USD annually):
| 1 | Crude petroleum | 183,748 |
| 2 | Refined petroleum | 70,646 |
| 3 | Natural gas | 42,892 |
| 4 | Coal | 14,074 |
| 5 | Semi-Finished Iron | 6,997 |
| 6 | Aluminium | 6,638 |
| 7 | Wheat | 6,211 |
| 8 | Gold | 5,845 |
| 9 | Diamonds | 4,677 |
| 10 | Mixed Mineral or Chemical Fertilizers | 4,255 |
| 11 | Nickel | 4,186 |
| 12 | Nitrogenous Fertilizers | 3,850 |
| 13 | Potassic Fertilizers | 3,643 |
| 14 | Sawn Wood | 3,448 |
| 15 | Hot-Rolled Iron | 3,273 |
| 16 | Copper wire | 3,011 |
| 17 | Synthetic rubber | 2,919 |
| 18 | Iron ore | 2,813 |
| 19 | Radioactive Chemicals | 2,583 |
| 20 | Refined Copper | 2,528 |
This geopolitical development comes after Joe Biden declared on Tuesday a total ban on Russian oil and gas imports to punish Russia over its incursion into Ukraine.
The Kremlin has warned that sanctions against Russian oil and gas would unleash “catastrophic consequences” and lead to $300 a barrel global oil prices.
Notably, Russia is the world’s leading wheat exporter, combined with Ukraine accounting for nearly 30% of global wheat exports.
Wheat prices have skyrocketed to their highest level in 14 years following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russia is also a top 10 exporter of other grain crops, including barley, corn, rye and oats.
Additionally, Russia is top exporter of fertilizers, and if that material is blocked from the global market, experts warn it could cause a “catastrophic” global food crisis.
“Half the world’s population gets food as a result of fertilizers…and if that’s removed from the field for some crops, [the yield] will drop by 50%,” Svein Tore Holsether, head of agri company Yara International, told the BBC on Tuesday.
Putin’s decree “On the Application of Special Economic Measures in the Sphere of Foreign Economic Activity for the Purpose of Ensuring the Security of the Russian Federation”:
Twitter: @WhiteIsTheFury
Gab: @WhiteIsTheFury
Minds: @WhiteIsTheFury
Gettr: @WhiteIsTheFury
Russian Has Information On Two US Built Bio-Labs In Ukraine Foreign Minister Lavrov Discloses