Russia and Ukraine reached agreement toward releasing millions of tons of grain from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports that -- if implemented -- would mark a major step toward shoring up global food supplies.
Government officials from Kyiv and Moscow signed parallel agreements with Turkey and the United Nations at a meeting in Istanbul. Grain ship traffic should begin in the coming days, said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The accord involves shipments from three Ukrainian ports -- Odesa, Chornomorsk and Pivdennyi, said United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
“This is an unprecedented agreement between two parties engaged in bloody conflict,” Guterres said at the ceremony.
The news could help revive agricultural trade from one of the world’s biggest wheat, corn and vegetable-oil exporters. If realized, that would help ease strained global grain supplies and take some pressure off food prices that surged to records levels in recent months.
However, many logistical hurdles remain and it’s uncertain how quickly exports will progress with Russia’s war still raging. Ukraine faces challenges from finding enough ships to carry the backlogged grain, to getting insurance to cover operations.
The plan’s success also hinges on Moscow’s security assurances and President Vladimir Putin living up to his side of the bargain, at a time when the Kremlin is moving to annex occupied lands and continues to advance in Ukraine’s east.
See also: Russia resumes Ukraine grain-export deal in abrupt reversal
The ports involved accounted for just over half of Ukrainian seaborne grain exports in the 2020-21 season, UkrAgroConsult data show.
