Ukrainian cereals: 14 million tonnes exported according to the UN
More than 14 million tonnes of grain have been exported so far from Ukrainian ports thanks to the “Black Sea Initiative”, a senior UN official in charge of the talks said on Thursday. During a press conference in Geneva, the Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad), Rebeca Grynspan, underlined the impact of this agreement between Ukraine and Russia which has enabled to reduce world food prices for seven consecutive months.
“We have exceeded 14 million tonnes (…) which were distributed through the Black Sea Grain Initiative”she said, pointing out that these were volumes “very important for the market”. The so-called Black Sea agreement, signed on July 22 for 120 days by the UN, Ukraine, Russia and Turkey, helped ease the global food crisis caused by the war, and was renewed for four month.
Mme Grynspan brushed aside accusations from those who say grain exports from Ukraine end up in rich countries, not developing ones. Mme Grynspan explained that it was first necessary to differentiate grain exports for livestock from those intended for consumption by populations. “Let’s be clear, most animal feed has never gone to developing countries, it’s more of an import from developed countries”, she clarified. In contrast, “developing countries have benefited greatly from the Black Sea Grains Initiative” with regard to foodstuffs intended for consumption by the populations, she maintained. Thus, two-thirds of wheat exports are destined for developing countries, she gave as an example. But the former vice-president of Costa Rica acknowledged that the volumes of exported cereals still remained below the level of 2021. “There is still a long way to go”did she say.
As on other occasions, she also said she feared a shortage of fertilizer next year.