Grain initiative: Ukraine’s agricultural exports drop by 25% compared to previous month
As the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine posted on Facebook, 77 ships exported 3 million tonnes of agricultural products from the ports of Odesa region to the countries of Africa, Asia, and Europe in January, showing a 25% decrease compared to December volumes.
"In December, Ukraine sent 94 ships with 3.7 million tonnes of agricultural products. In addition, the vast majority of countries receive Ukrainian agricultural products with huge delays due to idle time in the Bosphorus," the statement says.
The trend of a monthly decrease in agricultural exports through Odesa, Pivdennyi, and Chornomorsk ports is maintained. For the six months of the grain corridor operation, the world received 19.7 million tonnes of foodstuffs and should have received more than 30 million tonnes under the condition of stable functioning.
The only obstacle for Ukrainian agricultural products to reach world markets is the actions of the Russian side in the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) which by all available means and under invented pretexts blocks the inspections of ships in the Bosphorus and the registration of new vessels to the initiative.
"This is a purposeful destabilization of the situation with the aim of limiting the access of Ukrainian food to world markets by slowing down the movement of ships from/to Ukrainian ports. Ukraine has repeatedly drawn the attention of its partners to the inadmissibility of blocking free navigation by the aggressor state and the implementation of an unfair food policy," the Ministry stressed.
As reported, in Istanbul on November 17, 2022, Ukraine, the United Nations, and Turkey agreed to extend the initiative for the safe transportation of agricultural products across the Black Sea for another 120 days. It began working on July 22, 2022, and the first ship with Ukrainian foodstuffs left the port of Odesa on August 1.
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