Moscow and Kyiv signed an agreement to unblock the Black Sea and resume exports on July 22; 12 ships have already left the Ukrainian port
Press Service of the Ministry of Seaports of Ukraine/via Portal
Since Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement on the export of Ukrainian grain trapped in the Black Sea due to the ongoing conflict between the two countries since February 24, 12 ships headed for their destinations. Only on this Tuesday, the 9th, did two more transport ships leave the Ukrainian port of Chornomorsk, the Ministry of Defense announced Turkey. However, one problem has already become apparent. According to the ANSA news agency, 26,000 tons of the product were rejected by the buyer due to the delay of more than five months in which the goods arrived. The ship, which should have disembarked on Sunday, April 7, is staying near the Turkish Sea and awaiting a new buyer, the embassy said. According to data from Kyiv, about 20 million tons of grain and grain are then waiting in Ukrainian ports to be transported. Ships leaving the port today are bound for South Korea with 64,720 tons of corn and Istanbul with 5,300 tons of sunflower meal, the ministry said.
The agreement brokered by United Nations (UN) and Turkey, requires ships to pass inspections to prevent arms smuggling. Therefore, the four ships that left Ukraine on Sunday are anchored near Istanbul and will be inspected on Tuesday, the Defense Ministry statement said. Monitoring is carried out by a Joint Coordination Center (JCC) in which Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish and UN officials work. Russia and Ukraine on July 22 signed two agreements, supervised by Turkey and the United Nations, allowing the resumption of exports of Ukrainian grain and Russian agricultural products that have been blocked in ports since the beginning of the war. The resumption of activities is welcomed amid fears that the conflict and halt to exports could lead to severe food shortages and even famine in parts of the world. Ukraine expects to export 20 million tons of grain in silos and 40 million tons of its new crop, said the country’s economic adviser Oleh Ustenko. The government hopes to raise $10 billion from those supplies for its struggling economy, but Ustenko said it could take 20 to 24 months to export them if ports aren’t working properly.
*With information from AFP, Portal and ANSA