KYIV (Reuters) – A total of 165 ships carrying 3.7 million tonnes of agricultural commodities have left Ukraine as part of the United Nations-brokered deal with Turkey to unblock the country’s ports, the country said on Sunday. the Ukrainian Ministry of Infrastructure.
A dozen ships carrying 169,300 tons of agricultural products were also due to leave Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea on Sunday.
“At 10:00 a.m., eight ships left the ports of Greater Odessa, and two more are waiting for their turn and favorable conditions,” reads a statement from the ministry.
Ukraine’s grain exports plummeted after Russia invaded the country on February 24. The blocking of Black Sea ports and a sharp rise in world food prices have raised the specter of shortages in Africa and the Middle East.
A major grain-producing and exporting country, Ukraine shipped up to six million tons of grain per month before the war.
Three Black Sea ports have reopened under the agreement signed on July 22 by Moscow and Kyiv. According to the Ukrainian ministry, these ports are able to load and send abroad 100 to 150 cargoes per month.
(Report Pavel Polityuk; French version Elizabeth Pineau)
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