Ukraine is beginning to resume grain exports in an effort overseen by a joint Istanbul coordination center staffed by Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish and UN personnel.
The United Nations and Turkey negotiated an agreement after warnings from the United Nations about the risk of famine due to the halt in grain shipments from Ukraine. Prior to the invasion, Russia and Ukraine together accounted for almost a third of world wheat exports.
Mr Kubrakov said the general cargo vessel Fulmar S, flying the flag of Barbados, was in the Ukrainian port of Chornomorsk.
“We are doing (everything) possible so that our ports can receive and process more ships. In particular, we plan to reach the level of at least three five ships a day in two weeks (time)”, a- he wrote on Facebook.
“This event is an important market signal that (the agreement on grain shipments) is a safe and, above all, profitable business opportunity for shipowners returning to Ukrainian ports,” he added.
Ukraine eventually aims to ship 3 million tonnes per month from its Black Sea ports, he added.
Around 20 million tonnes of grain from last year’s harvest are still stuck in the country.