UKRAINE made its first shipment of grain since Russia's invasion, marking a small but crucial first step toward unlocking the millions of tons of crops piling up in the country and boosting global food supplies, reports Bloomberg.
The 29,29-dwt Razoni, a Sierra Leone-flagged bulk carrier loaded with 26,527 tons of corn, left for Lebanon, according to the United Nations, which together with Turkey helped broker the deal to restart exports.
Ukraine Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov confirmed the departure and said there were 16 other ships in the greater Odessa region waiting for their turn to sail.
Wheat, corn and soybean futures slid in Chicago. Ukraine is one of the biggest grain and vegetable-oil suppliers and the loss of exports via its Black Sea ports has shaken the food trade and raised the threat of a hunger crisis.
The shipment is the achievement under the July 22 cartel - a written agreement between belligerent nations - to create safe shipping corridors through three Ukrainian ports.
'Ensuring that existing grain and foodstuffs can move to global markets is a humanitarian imperative,' a spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said. 'The secretary-general hopes that this will be the first of many commercial ships moving in accordance with the initiative.'
Scores of ships are stuck in the ports dotted along the Black Sea and are expected to begin moving out in convoys if all goes well.
But shipowners will have to secure insurance for cargoes and vessels, and also find enough crew to sail them. A Russian attack on Odessa's sea port with cruise missiles hours after signing the deal raised questions earlier about its commitment.
Ukraine will start moving agricultural goods to ports this week, Mr Kubrakov said. The country has been shipping some volumes of grain by road and rail while the ports remained closed, but in much smaller volumes than it can export by sea.
It expects to reach full throughput capacity for transporting agricultural goods within weeks, the minister wrote earlier.
The pace of exports will be important as Ukraine's farmers have warned they are running out of space to store crops, which could have a negative effect on how much grain is sown for next year's harvest.
The World Food Programme is planning to purchase, load and ship an initial 30,000 tons of wheat out of Ukraine on a UN-chartered vessel, with more details expected in the coming days, the UN said.
SeaNews Turkey
The 29,29-dwt Razoni, a Sierra Leone-flagged bulk carrier loaded with 26,527 tons of corn, left for Lebanon, according to the United Nations, which together with Turkey helped broker the deal to restart exports.
Ukraine Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov confirmed the departure and said there were 16 other ships in the greater Odessa region waiting for their turn to sail.
Wheat, corn and soybean futures slid in Chicago. Ukraine is one of the biggest grain and vegetable-oil suppliers and the loss of exports via its Black Sea ports has shaken the food trade and raised the threat of a hunger crisis.
The shipment is the achievement under the July 22 cartel - a written agreement between belligerent nations - to create safe shipping corridors through three Ukrainian ports.
'Ensuring that existing grain and foodstuffs can move to global markets is a humanitarian imperative,' a spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said. 'The secretary-general hopes that this will be the first of many commercial ships moving in accordance with the initiative.'
Scores of ships are stuck in the ports dotted along the Black Sea and are expected to begin moving out in convoys if all goes well.
But shipowners will have to secure insurance for cargoes and vessels, and also find enough crew to sail them. A Russian attack on Odessa's sea port with cruise missiles hours after signing the deal raised questions earlier about its commitment.
Ukraine will start moving agricultural goods to ports this week, Mr Kubrakov said. The country has been shipping some volumes of grain by road and rail while the ports remained closed, but in much smaller volumes than it can export by sea.
It expects to reach full throughput capacity for transporting agricultural goods within weeks, the minister wrote earlier.
The pace of exports will be important as Ukraine's farmers have warned they are running out of space to store crops, which could have a negative effect on how much grain is sown for next year's harvest.
The World Food Programme is planning to purchase, load and ship an initial 30,000 tons of wheat out of Ukraine on a UN-chartered vessel, with more details expected in the coming days, the UN said.
SeaNews Turkey
