Ukraine’s Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kobrakov said a ship carrying Ukrainian grain left the port of Odessa on Monday, the first to do so as part of a deal to unlock Ukraine’s ports on the Black Sea.
“The first grain ship since the Russian aggression left the port. Thanks to the support of all our partner countries and the United Nations, we were able to fully implement the agreement signed in Istanbul,” he wrote on Twitter.
Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations have reached an agreement to ensure the safe export of grain from Ukraine’s ports on the Black Sea, which were blocked after Russia invaded the country on February 24.
“The opening of the ports will provide at least $1 billion in foreign exchange earnings for the economy and an opportunity for the agricultural sector to plan for next year’s sowing season,” Kobrakov said in a separate ministry statement.
Brazilian corn exports grow without competition from Ukraine
The minister also said that another 16 ships were waiting to depart. “Ukraine today, together with its partners, is taking another step towards preventing world hunger,” he said.
On Saturday (30), President Volodymyr Zelensky said that even with export efforts, this year’s harvest in Ukraine could be halved.
Ukraine’s crop this year is threatened by the weakness of this crop. Our main goal – to avoid the global food crisis caused by the Russian invasion. “The beans are still finding a way to deliver them instead,” he wrote on his Twitter account.
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