Food exports from Ukraine fell by at least 30% after the termination of the grain deal. The corresponding statement was made by the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Mykola Solsky.
“We have much less exports, I think at least 30% less than before”– Bloomberg quotes him.
Solsky stressed that many Ukrainian companies have switched to shipping grain by trucks or by rail. Often it is taken to Romanian ports on the Danube River.
On July 17, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced the suspension of the grain deal. Russia will be able to return to it only if all the obligations that were given to the Russian Federation initially are fulfilled.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on July 19 that the UN has three months to fulfill the memorandum with Russia on the grain deal.
The Black Sea Grain Initiative was signed by representatives of Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN in July 2022 in Istanbul. The deal involved the export of Ukrainian grain, food and fertilizer across the Black Sea, as well as the removal of restrictions on the export of Russian food and fertilizer to world markets. In particular, they discussed the reconnection of Rosselkhozbank to SWIFT, the resumption of supplies of agricultural machinery and spare parts, and the restoration of the operation of the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline.
Most of the grain exported under the grain deal was to be sent to developing countries. However, the UN later acknowledged that 90% of corn and 60% of wheat ended up in upper-middle-income or wealthy states.
Russia has repeatedly stated problems with the implementation of the part of the grain deal relating to Russian products. Vladimir Putin called this agreement a one-way game because nothing had been done for Russia. On July 13, 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted that the deal could be suspended until Moscow’s conditions are met.
