2023-07-17 10:50:09
A cargo ship that has been exporting grain from Ukraine under the Black Sea Grain Agreement mediated by the United Nations waits in the Bosphorus Strait of Turkey on the 15th. If the grain agreement is suspended, international grain prices will soar, causing food shortages in low-income countries in the Middle East and Africa. Archyde.com Yonhap News
Russia has said it will no longer extend the Black Sea grain export agreement, which has ensured the safe operation of cargo ships exporting grain through Ukraine. If grain export routes through the Black Sea are blocked, low-income countries in Africa and the Middle East, which have been importing wheat and corn from Ukraine, are expected to suffer food shortages. Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Russian Kremlin (Presidential Palace), said on the 17th (local time) that the grain agreement, which expires on the 18th, will not be extended, news outlets reported. Peskov spokesman said at a press briefing that day, “The agreement has effectively ended today. “The grain agreement is over,” he said. “If Russia’s demands are implemented, Russia will immediately return to the agreement.” Russia’s announcement came hours following two people were killed in an attack on the Crimean Bridge connecting the Russian mainland and the Crimean Peninsula. Russian President Vladimir Putin also said in a phone call with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on the 15th that the grain agreement might not be extended, saying that the conditions for extending the grain agreement were not met. After Russia announced its intention to terminate the agreement, wheat prices soared by around 4 percent on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement on July 22 of last year to guarantee exports of grain from Ukraine through the Black Sea through the mediation of the United Nations and Turkey as food shortages broke out in the Middle East and Africa following the war began at the end of February last year. This agreement has since been extended three times, and the deadline for the third extension was on the 17th. Whenever the agreement was extended, Russia has complained that the plan to promote Russian grain and fertilizer exports agreed between Russia and the United Nations is not being implemented. In March, the deadline for the agreement was cut in half from 120 days to 60 days. The West has refuted this, saying that Russia’s exports of grain and fertilizer are not disrupted. According to U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics, Russian wheat export shipments hit 45.5 million tons in fiscal year 2022-2023, and are expected to rise to 47.5 million tons in 2023-2024. After the grain agreement was concluded, Ukraine has exported 32.9 million tons of grain through three Black Sea ports including Odessa. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations said this would account for half of the food needs of 45 developing countries. Grain exports through the Black Sea peaked at 4.2 million tons in October last year, but fell steadily to 1.3 million tons in May. Before the war, Ukraine’s wheat and corn exports accounted for 10% of world total. Senior Reporter Jeong Eui-gil [email protected]
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