Russia has today (Monday, July 17) withdrawn from the Black Sea Grain Initiative which allowed for the export of more than 32 million tonnes of grain from Ukraine over the past year.
The deal brokered by the United Nations (UN) and Turkey in July 2022 to allow Ukraine export grain from three Black Sea ports was set for renewal today.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen “strongly condemned” Russia’s move to withdraw from the deal “despite UN and Turkey’s efforts”.
“I strongly condemn Russia’s cynical move to terminate the Black Sea Grain Initiative, despite UN and Turkey’s efforts. EU is working to ensure food security for the world’s vulnerable.
“EU Solidarity Lanes will continue bringing agri-food products out of Ukraine and to global markets,” the president of the European Commission said on Twitter.
UN secretary-general, Antonio Guterres recently sent a letter to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin outlining a proposal in a bid to keep the deal operational.
The objective was to remove hurdles affecting financial transactions through the Russian agricultural bank, which was a major concern expressed by Russia, the UN said.
Black Sea Grain Initiative
Food exports through the corridor have dropped significantly in the past months from a peak of 4.2 million tonnes in October 2022 to 1.3 million tonnes in May.
This decline was due to the “slowing pace” of inspections and the “exclusion” of the Yuzhny/Pivdennyi port, according the UN secretary-general.
Nearly one year into the agreement, more than 32 million tonnes of food commodities have been exported from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports to 45 countries across three continents.
China has been the main destination for cargo exports of Ukrainian grain at 8 million tonnes, followed by Spain at 6 million tonnes and Turkey at 3.2 million tonnes.
The partial resumption of Ukrainian sea exports enabled by the deal has unblocked vital food commodities and has helped reverse spiking global food prices, the UN said.
The grain deal has allowed the World Food Programme (WFP) to transport more than 725,000t of wheat to Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen, the UN said.