KYIV- Ukraine’s grain, oilseed, vegetable oil exports rose 22.7 percent in July versus June to 2.66 million tons thanks to higher wheat and barley shipments, the agriculture ministry said on Wednesday.
Ukraine’s grain exports have slumped since the start of the war because its Black Sea ports – a key route for shipments – were closed off, driving up global food prices and prompting fears of shortages in Africa and the Middle East.
An agreement was concluded last month to unblock Ukrainian seaports and allow the departure of ships carrying grain.
July’s exports included 412,000 tons of wheat, 183,000 tons of barley, 1.1 million tons of corn, 362,100 tons of sunseed and tonnages of other commodities, the ministry said.
However, in a separate statement the ministry said Ukrainian grain exports were still down almost 52 percent year-on-year at 2.2 million tons so far in the 2022/23 season.
Grain exports for the 2021/22 season ending June 30 rose 8.5 percent to 48.5 million tons, driven by strong shipments before Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.
Ukraine has said 370,000 tons of grain were exported from seaports after their unblocking.
The ministry data showed that exports so far in 2022/23 included 1.45 million tons of corn, 562,000 tons of wheat and 192,000 tons of barley.
The government has said that Ukraine could harvest at least 50 million tons of grain this year, compared with a record 86 million tons in 2021, because of the loss of land to Russian forces and lower grain yields.
Ships exporting Ukraine grain through the Black Sea will be protected by a 10 nautical mile buffer zone, according to long-awaited procedures agreed by Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations on Monday and seen by Reuters.
The United Nations and Turkey brokered a deal last month after Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine halted grain exports, stoking a global food crisis that the United Nations says has pushed tens of millions more people into hunger.
Since then Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations have been working to hammer out written procedures in the hope that it will assure shipping and insurance companies enough to resume grain and fertilizer shipments from the Ukrainian ports of Odesa, Chornomorsk and Yuzhny.
“We very much hope it will increase the traffic under this initiative,” said U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ spokesman Stephane Dujarric after the procedures were agreed.
The initiative has been operating in a trial phase for the past two weeks. Ten ships – stuck in Ukraine since the war started – have departed with corn, soybeans and sunflower oil and meal. Two empty vessels have traveled to Ukraine to collect shipments.
The biggest ship yet, the Ocean Lion, is due to leave the port of Chornomorsk on Tuesday to deliver 64,720 metric tons of corn to South Korea, said the Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) on Monday. The JCC in Istanbul oversees the deal and is made up of Turkish, Russian, Ukrainian and U.N. officials.
Ukraine, along with Russia, is a major global supplier of wheat and other foodstuffs.
However, the first ship to depart Ukraine under the U.N. deal last week is now looking for another port to unload after the initial Lebanese buyer refused delivery, citing a more than five-month delay.
The United Nations has stressed that the export deal is a commercial – not humanitarian – operation that will be driven by the market. All ships are required to be inspected to allay Russian concerns they could be smuggling weapons in to Ukraine. — Reuters
