Two ships arrive in Ukraine port to load grain destined for Africa and Asia

Kyiv — Two cargo vessels arrived in Ukraine on Saturday, Ukrainian port authorities said, the first ships to use a temporary corridor to sail into Black Sea ports and load grain for African and Asian markets.

Ukraine in August announced a “humanitarian corridor” in the Black Sea to release ships trapped in its ports since the start of the war in February 2022 and to circumvent a de facto blockade after Russia abandoned a deal to let Kyiv export grain.

Five vessels have so far left the port of Odesa, using the corridor which hugs the western Black Sea coast near Romania and Bulgaria. Ukraine, a leading global food producer and exporter, also wants to use the corridor for its food exports.

The Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority, in a post on Facebook, said the bulk carriers Resilient Africa and Aroyat had arrived in the port of Chernomorsk.

They were due to load 20,000 tonnes of wheat for Africa and Asia, deputy prime minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said earlier. Ukraine’s agriculture ministry said on the Telegram messaging app that the wheat would be shipped to Egypt and Israel.

“While the UN is not involved in the movement of those vessels, we welcome all efforts for the resumption of normal trade, especially of vital food commodities that help supply and stabilise global food markets,” a UN official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said. “We continue our efforts to facilitate exports for agricultural products from both Ukraine and the Russian Federation.”

The loadings are a test of Ukraine’s ability to reopen shipping lanes at a time when Russia is trying to reimpose its de facto blockade, having abandoned the grain deal in July. Moscow has launched frequent drone and missile attacks on the Ukrainian grain export infrastructure.

The Black Sea grain deal was brokered by the UN and Turkey in July 2022 to combat a global food crisis worsened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine and Russia are among the world’s top grain exporters. Ukraine made several attacks in recent days using sea drones and missiles on Russia’s Black Sea naval fleet in and around the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed from Ukraine by Russia in 2014.

On Friday, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary announced restrictions on Ukrainian grain imports after the European Commission decided not to extend its ban on imports into Ukraine’s five EU neighbours.

Ukrainian farmers have relied on grain exports through neighbouring countries since the conflict began as it has been unable to use the favoured routes through Black Sea ports. But the flood of grains and oilseeds into neighbouring countries reduced prices there, impacting the income of local farmers and resulting in governments banning agricultural imports from Ukraine. 

Reuters