The first sea shipment of Ukrainian wheat grain to be used for humanitarian operations of the World Food Program in Africa set sail this Tuesday from the Ukrainian port of Pivdennyi, in the port city of Yuzhny.
The departure of the ship is part of the agreement reached between Ukraine and Russia, under the auspices of the United Nations, known as the Black Sea Initiative for the Export of Grain.
The freighter Brave Commander transports 23,000 metric tons of wheat grain destined to cover the humanitarian response of the Program in the Horn of Africa, where the threat of famine looms in this region affected by drought.
“Getting the opening of the Black Sea ports is the most important thing we can do right now to help the world’s hungry people,” said the Executive Director of the Programme.
David Beasley clarified that the shipment will not be enough to end world hunger, but stressed that “with Ukrainian grain back on world markets we have a chance to prevent this global food crisis from escalating further.”
According to the data handled by the Program, a record number of 345 million people in 82 countries are currently facing a serious situation of food insecurity, while close to 50 million in 45 nations are on the brink of famine.
The resumption of commercial and humanitarian maritime traffic at Ukraine’s Black Sea ports will serve to mitigate some of the global supply disruptions and allow grain storage silos to be emptied before the harvest of the summer season.
Although these advances are positive, the Program highlights that “the world continues to face an unprecedented food crisis” and points out the need to undertake “immediate action that brings together the humanitarian community, governments and the private sector to save lives and invest in long-term solutions.”
In case of not achieving this objective, it warns that “the world population will be doomed to devastating famines with destabilizing effects that we will all feel”.
Wheat exports are the result of a close alliance between the private and government sectors.
The Program indicated that the grain shipment would not have been managed without the significant emergency contribution of the Office of Humanitarian Assistance of the United States Agency for International Development, as well as the significant contributions of the long-time collaborator and former goodwill ambassador of the Programme, Howard G. Buffett, and the Minderoo Foundation, the Australian philanthropic organization of Andrew and Nicola Forrest.
The Joint Coordination Center directs the Maritime operation
The Joint Coordination Center has authorized from August 1 to 15 a total of 36 ship transfers (21 out and 15 back). The movements are carried out through a maritime humanitarian corridor in the Black Sea that seeks to facilitate the safe export of grain, food and fertilizers, including ammonia, from Ukrainian ports.
The Center was inaugurated on July 27 in Istanbul and is part of the Black Sea Grain Export Initiative promoted by the Russian Federation, Türkiye and Ukraine under the auspices of the United Nations.
During the first fortnight of August, the departure of 21 ships was authorized. The cargo ships departed from the Ukrainian ports of Odessa (11), Chornomorsk (6) and Yuzhny/Pivdennyi (4). These three ships carry a total of 563,317 metric tons of grain and other food products.
Of the 27 inspections carried out by the center in the first fifteen days of August, all of them were authorized to continue.
Goods Detail:
- 481 metric tons of corn
- 300 metric tons of sunflower meal
- 622 metric tons of wheat
- 000 metric tons of soybeans
- 6,000 metric tons of sunflower oil
- 2,914 metric tons of sunflower seeds
According to the information provided to the Center, the preliminary destinations of Ukrainian food exports so far are to:
- Turkey: 26%.
- Iran: 22%.
- Republic of Korea: 22%.
- Chinese: 8%.
- Ireland: 6%.
- Italy: 5%.
- Djibouti: 4%.
- Romania: 2%.
- To be determined: 5%
Trade ship routes and cargo ownership are determined by trade activity and may change along the way. The food destined for Djibouti includes 23,000 tons of wheat purchased by the World Food Program to help respond to the drought in Ethiopia.
The Center closely monitors the incoming and outgoing movements of ships through the Black Sea Humanitarian Maritime Corridor. So far, he has observed on two occasions that the ships have deviated from the humanitarian corridor and has contacted the captains advising them to follow the established coordinates.
The Black Sea Grains Initiative aims to tackle high food price inflation and global food insecurity, which is at record levels with tens of millions of people at risk of famine.
According to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Ukraine contributes around 10.3% and 12.6% of world exports of wheat and corn, respectively. Its share of sunflower products (seeds and oil) is 48.2%.
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