The last ship loaded with grain left Ukraine on Wednesday under the deal allowing the safe export of grain from the war-torn country across the Black Sea a day before Russia could decide to abandon the pact due to obstacles Moscow says , hinder their exports of cereals and fertilizers. The deal allows grain to be shipped to parts of the world struggling with hunger, thereby helping to alleviate a global food crisis exacerbated by the war Russia launched on February 24, 2022.
The bulk carrier DSM Capella has left the port of Chornomorsk, in the southern region of Odessa, with 30,000 tons of corn and is heading to Turkey, according to United Nations data.
The United Nations and Turkey negotiated the Black Sea deal for an initial 120 days in July last year to help address a global food crisis that has been exacerbated by Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, one of the world's top grain exporters. .
Moscow agreed to extend the Black Sea pact for a further 120 days in November, but then in March agreed to a 60-day extension, until May 18, unless a list of demands regarding its own agricultural exports were met.
To convince Russia in July to allow grain exports from the Black Sea, the United Nations agreed at the same time to help Moscow with its own agricultural shipments for three years.
"There are still many open questions regarding our part of the deal. Now a decision will have to be made," Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov told reporters on Tuesday, according to Russian media.
Senior officials from Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN met in Istanbul last week to discuss the Black Sea pact. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday that the talks are ongoing: "Contacts are being made at different levels. Obviously, we are at a delicate stage."
Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu gave some hope last week when he shared that he believed the deal could be extended for at least two more months. Although Moscow flatly refused to prolong it indefinitely. For critical voices, Russia would be trying to extract concessions in other areas, such as Western sanctions.
While Russian food and fertilizer exports are not subject to Western sanctions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine, Moscow says restrictions on payments, logistics and insurance have become a barrier to shipments.
The United States has rejected Russia's complaints. The US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said last week: "It is exporting grain and fertilizer at the same level, if not more, than before the full-scale invasion." Trade flows tracked by financial data provider Refinitiv show Russia exported just over 4 million tonnes of wheat in April, the highest volume for the month in five years after near-record highs in previous months.
Officials and analysts warn that failure to extend the so-called Black Sea Grain Initiative could hurt countries in Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia that depend on wheat, barley, vegetable oil and other affordable food products from Ukraine, especially when the drought is taking its toll.
"Any impact on the markets can cause massive damage with catastrophic effects in countries that are on the brink of famine," warned the emergency director for East Africa at the International Rescue Committee, Shashwat Saraf, to the AP agency. “The expiration of the agreement is likely to trigger higher levels of hunger and malnutrition, spelling further disaster for East Africa,” Saraf added.
The agreement has allowed more than 30 million metric tons of Ukrainian grain to be shipped, with more than half destined for developing countries. China, Spain and Turkey are the biggest recipients, and Russia says that shows that food is not going to the poorest countries.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres says Ukrainian corn for animal feed has gone to developed countries, while "most" grain for human food has gone to emerging economies. Even if a "significant part" of shipments goes to developed nations, that "has a positive impact on all countries because it drives prices down," Guterres told reporters in Nairobi, Kenya, this month. "And when you lower prices, everyone benefits."
