The first Ukrainian grain shipment left the port of Odesa on Monday under a deal reached between Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, and the United Nations (UN) to facilitate the transfer of grain exports via the Black Sea. The move is expected to ease the global food crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“The implementation of the initiative on the export of Ukrainian grain and other agricultural products from our ports in the Black Sea began today,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Monday. He said the first shipment carried 26,000 tonnes of corn.
The Sierra Leone-flagged vessel, MV Razoni, will dock at the port of Tripoli, Lebanon, in the coming days, and additional shipments will leave Odesa this week.
#Ukraine4FoodSecurity
— MFA of Ukraine 🇺🇦 (@MFA_Ukraine) August 1, 2022
A vessel carrying #Ukrainian grain left #Odesa port this morning, the first since the start of the full-scale #Russian invasion.
🎥 Ministry of Infrastructure of #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/wR1kNHuVcj
Calling the move a “positive signal,” Zelensky said while it might be too early to draw conclusions, removing the blockade on Ukrainian grain could “stop the spread of the food crisis in the world.” He added that success “depends on the implementation of the security parameters” under the deal.
“We cannot have the illusions that Russia will simply refrain from trying to disrupt Ukrainian exports,” Zelensky stated, before going on to say that “Russia [has] consistently provoked famine in the countries of Africa and Asia, which traditionally imported large volumes of Ukrainian food.”
In this respect, he noted that Kyiv is still cautious about implementing the deal and unsure whether the agreement would work.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba hailed the grain shipment as a “day of relief for the world, especially for our friends in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa.” “Ukraine has always been a reliable partner and will remain one should Russia respect its part of the deal,” he declared.
Welcome the departure of the first grain shipment from Ukraine & the resumption of the grain trade. Planned departure of more grain should hopefully bring intl. grain prices down, aid humanitarian purchases & have a positive impact on poor people going hungry in poor countries.
— Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (@NOIweala) August 1, 2022
Moscow, Kyiv, Ankara, and the UN signed a deal last month to facilitate the export of Ukrainian grain stuck at the country’s ports via the Black Sea. According to the agreement, all parties agreed to establish a “coordination centre” in Istanbul to oversee transfers of Ukrainian exports. Representatives from all sides will be at the centre, which will establish joint controls at the port exit and arrival points and ensure navigational safety on the transfer routes.
Zelensky’s government has accused Russia of imposing a naval blockade that has left dozens of ships, and over 20 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain exports stuck at ports. On the other hand, Moscow has blamed Kyiv for blockading the region by mining the area near its ports.
The blockade has resulted in a global food crisis, including rising demand for grains and skyrocketing food prices. Many countries are virtually entirely dependent on wheat from Ukraine and Russia and have seen the depletion of their wheat reserves, leaving millions without access to bread.
17 Ukrainian vessels that are blockaded on the Black Sea have been loaded with grain and another is being loaded
— Samuel Ramani (@SamRamani2) July 29, 2022
Ukraine hopes to start exporting grain from these 18 ships by the end of this week
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the war’s impact on the global food market could lead an additional 11 million to 19 million people to chronic hunger by the end of the year. Therefore, the signing of the deal brings much-needed relief to global agricultural markets and stakeholders.
Against this backdrop, UN Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed the departure of MV Razoni and said the move would help ease the global food crisis. “Ensuring that existing grain and foodstuffs can move to global markets is a humanitarian imperative,” Guterres noted. “In line with the humanitarian spirit of the initiative, the World Food Programme (WFP) is also planning to purchase, load and ship an initial 30,000 metric tons of wheat out of Ukraine on a UN-chartered vessel,” he added.