Ukraine Ships Final Grain Cargo as Black Sea Deal Nears Expiration

Russia, which agreed at a meeting held in Istanbul in March to extend the Black Sea Grain Initiative, an agreement signed in Istanbul on July 22, 2022 to allow the resumption of exports of vital food commodities and fertilizers from certain Ukrainian seaports, has stated that it will not allow the continuation of the agreement after May 18, unless its demands regarding the export of cereals and fertilizers are met. As a result, a final ship left Ukraine on Wednesday.

According to the Joint Coordination Center that monitors the movement of ships and conducts inspections, a cargo of 30,000 tons of corn destined for Turkey is expected to leave Chornomorsk. Six other ships carrying nearly 180,000 tons of cereals that have left the ports of Chornomorsk and Odessa in recent days. Among these ships currently awaiting inspection, 62,000 tons of corn are destined for Saudi Arabia, 19,800 tons of sunflower meal for Morocco, 32,611 tons of corn and 8,704 tons of soybeans for Egypt, 30,000 tons of wheat for Sudan and 26,250 tons of wheat for Turkey.

Negotiated by the United Nations and Turkey, the Black Sea Grain Initiative has allowed Ukraine to export more than 30 million tons of cereals from several of its Black Sea ports since last July.