Three more vessels with grain leave Ukraine port under U.N. agreement

.

ISTANBUL, (AP) — Another three ships carrying grain from Ukraine have left Ukrainian ports, and they are heading to Turkey to inspect, the Turkish defense ministry announced Friday. This is evidence of a U.N.-backed agreement to export Ukrainian grain, which has been trapped in Russia’s invasion.

The three ships are loaded with over 58,000 tons of corn. Experts say that a large portion of Ukraine’s grain exports are used for animal feed.

Ukraine was one of the main breadbaskets of the globe. The stocks of grain that were trapped in the country were causing a steep rise in food prices, and prompting fears about a global crisis of hunger.

The ships are leaving after receiving the first shipment of grain since the outbreak of war in Ukraine. The ship crossed the Black Sea in the wartime agreement and was cleared for inspection Wednesday at Istanbul. It then continued on to Lebanon.

The ships leaving Ukraine on Friday were among more than a dozen cargo and bulk ships, which had all been loaded with grain since Russia invaded in February.

While tens and thousands of tonnes of grain are making their way out of Ukraine with the latest shipments of these grains, this is still only a small fraction of the 20million tons of grain that Ukraine claims are stuck in its silos and ports. These grains must be moved out to free up space for next year’s harvest.

An estimated 6 million tonnes of this trapped grain are wheat. Only half is intended for human consumption according to David Laborde of the International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington D.C .

Grain prices peaked within the first week of Russia’s invasion. However, some have returned to pre-war levels. Jonathan Haines (senior analyst, data and analytics company Gro Intelligence) stated that corn prices hover around 70% higher than the levels at the beginning of February 2020, prior to the pandemic. According to Haines, wheat prices were 63% higher than the level at which the pandemic began.

The three ships that left Ukrainian ports are the Turkish-flagged Polarnet, carrying 12,000 tons of corn, which left the Chornomorsk port bound for Karasu, Turkey. The Panama-flagged Navi Star left Odesa’s port for Ireland with 33,000 tons of corn. The Maltese-flagged Rojen left Chornomorsk for the United Kingdom carrying over 13,000 tons of corn, according to the United Nations.

The U.N. stated that the coordination center responsible for the agreement had approved the use of three vessels as part of the expansion and also checked a vessel headed to Ukraine.

The Fulmar S, a Barbados-flagged Fulmar S, was checked in Istanbul. It is now destined for the Chornomorsk port of Ukraine.

The Joint Coordination Center oversees the Istanbul deal. It is made up of officials from Turkey, Russia and Turkey.

The deal’s purpose is to establish safe Black Sea shipping routes to allow Ukraine to export its most urgently needed agricultural products. Inspectors inspect the ships to make sure that they only carry grain, fertilizer, or food, as well that no weapons are being carried onboard.

The U.N. stated that after the first shipment this week, it was necessary to revise the humanitarian corridor “to permit more efficient passage of vessels while maintaining safety .”

___

Aya batrawy contributed from Dubai.