The US has quietly been telling companies to ramp up their purchases of Russian fertilizer as a global food crisis appears to be approaching, according to a new Bloomberg report. As they have been doing that, the US has also been helping Russia to deliver more fertilizer, grain, and other agricultural supplies from Russia to the UN, despite the conflict between the nations over the invasion of Ukraine.

This year, Russian fertilizer exports are down 24% according to Bloomberg data. On top of that, combined, Russia and Ukraine accounted for 25% of global grain trade, all of which is at risk due to the political ramifications of the war in Ukraine.

So as the US wants to heap economic pressure on Russia over the war in Ukraine, it still needs to act to prevent that objective from leading to a global economic collapse, or a famine. To that end the US and EU made sure the sanctions packages they adopted included fertilizer exemptions for Russia, allowing that vital commodity to enter the world market.

The measure appear to be working. According to Russia’s grain union, the nation doubled its wheat exports in May. Simultaneously, Bloomberg reported that Ukraine is unable to export 25 million tons of sunflower oil, grain, and other goods due to security issues, most notably mines in Ukraine’s ports.

While western officials have accused Russia of preventing the export of those goods, many point out that Ukraine actually mined its own ports to prevent Russian invasion, and that they have repeatedly refused to remove the mines until such time as the Russian threat has ended permanently.