“Ukrainian Grain Export Deal Extended Amidst Ship Inspection Challenges”

The grain export deal allows Ukraine to export grain from key ports via the Black Sea, and Russia has so far agreed to continue the deal. Grain shipments have been hampered by multiple interruptions due to ship inspections. The pace of inspections will be crucial from now on for Ukraine to be able to export the next crop, which will be harvested in July.

The extension of the deal is also important for Erdogan, who wants to be re-elected as president in the second round of elections at the end of May. He actively uses his role in negotiations to prove himself as a global leader.

The last grain ship allowed to export grain in the so-called Black Sea Grain Deal left a Ukrainian port on Wednesday, a day before Russia threatened to pull out of the deal. Russia justified this with obstacles to its grain and fertilizer exports.

The agreement, brokered by the UN and Turkey last summer, was initially valid for 120 days. Moscow agreed to extend it by 120 days in November and then by another 60 days in March – only until May 18 – unless its demands on Russian agricultural exports are met.

To initially convince Russia to allow grain exports via the Black Sea, the United Nations agreed to help Moscow with its agricultural shipments for three years. Russia now claims that this did not happen.

“Like when the invasion happened, it was the last thing the world needed in an already tight food situation, especially for wheat. And so,

if there is a suspension of the grain deal again when we are already in a pretty tight spot, it is just one more thing that the world does not need. So prices could start to rise,”

explained agricultural data analyst William Osnato.

The UN warns that not extending the Black Sea Grains Initiative could harm countries in Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia that rely on Ukrainian wheat, barley, vegetable oil and other food products.

CONTEXT

The Ukrainian grain export corridor in the Black Sea, established last summer, allows to bypass the blockade of Ukrainian ports by Russian warships, which was launched by Russia after a full-scale invasion on February 24 last year.

Ukraine is one of the world’s leading suppliers of grain, but grain exports came to a halt after Russia’s repeated invasion. Due to the Russian blockade, ships with hundreds of thousands of tons of grain and other agricultural products could not leave Ukraine’s Black Sea ports for months. This, in turn, led to an increase in global food prices.

Ukraine’s grain exports only resumed in July after Kyiv and Moscow agreed to an initiative drawn up by the UN and Turkey that allows cargo ships from Ukrainian ports to reach Turkey’s Bosphorus without hindrance and then move on. The terms of the agreement require it to be renewed every 120 days.

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