Military officials from Russia and Ukraine have reached an agreement on the resumption of Ukrainian grain exports via the Black Sea. This could be formalized as early as next week at a special UN summit.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed optimism but also stated that details still need to be worked out.
Russia is reportedly agreeing to a ceasefire during grain shipments by sea, and Turkey – supported by the United Nations – will inspect such grain ships to alleviate Russian concerns about arms smuggling. An initial test voyage from Odessa is planned to demonstrate whether the arrangements actually work. Such a first grain ship may be escorted by the Turkish navy.
Since the Russian invasion, access to Ukrainian ports has been blocked, partly due to the presence of the Russian navy’s war fleet and partly because of sea mines laid by the Ukrainians to keep the Russians away from their coastal area. Because of this, and due to international sanctions against Russia, grain exports from both major grain suppliers via the Black Sea have largely come to a halt.
The grain corridors the European Union aims to establish for Ukrainian grain exports in neighboring countries Poland, Moldova, and Romania have so far had little effect. EU politicians painted a particularly bleak picture of this last Monday.
Two delegations from the European Parliament have conducted work visits in recent weeks to various border crossings. Their report shows that Ukrainian grain export has completely stopped. Virtually all major buyers have purchased elsewhere in the world because Ukrainian raw materials can only be acquired at high transport costs and insurance premiums.
The Ukrainian grain that is transported by train and trucks to Poland then occupies storage space intended for Polish grain traders. Afterwards, that grain does not end up in the Middle East or North Africa. Polish grain traders are already complaining about unfair competition from grain that is not being further transported.