- Grain shipments from Ukraine’s
Black Sea ports to resume
- Up to 5 million tonnes of grain
exports a month will help some of the world’s poorest and most
vulnerable people
- Previously 96% of Ukrainian grain
was exported through the Black Sea
A United Nations-brokered agreement to resume grain exports from
key Ukrainian Black Sea ports must now be implemented, Foreign
Secretary said today.
The agreement, brokered in Istanbul, by Ukraine, Turkey, the UN
and Russia will allow up to 5 million tonnes of grain per month
to be exported by commercial shipping through safe lanes in
Ukrainian waters.
The resumption of maritime grain exports from Ukraine will be a
positive step for addressing the global food security crisis,
which has been severely exacerbated by Russia’s unprovoked
invasion of Ukraine, their destruction and theft of grain and the
seizure and blockading of maritime ports.
The UK has pushed for the UN proposal, which will create a
maritime corridor through which grain can be exported. Ministers
and officials have consistently raised the issue with their
counterparts, both publicly and privately, stressing the
importance of Russian agreement to the UN proposal given their
blockade of Ukrainian ports. This includes at the G7 and NATO
Summits and with G20 Foreign Ministers in Bali. The UK has also
provided military equipment which helps to secure Ukrainian ports
against attack from the sea.
Foreign Secretary said:
“Putin’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine has meant some of the
poorest and most vulnerable people in the world are at risk of
having nothing to eat. It is vital that Ukrainian grain reaches
international food markets, and we applaud Turkey and the UN
Secretary General for their efforts to broker this
agreement.
“The UK and our allies have been pushing hard to reach this
point. Now this agreement must be implemented, and we will be
watching to ensure Russia’s actions match its words. To enable a
lasting return to global security and economic stability, Putin
must end the war and withdraw from Ukraine.”
Until Russia’s invasion, Ukraine was one of the largest exporters
of grains and vegetable oils, exporting grain to meet the needs
of hundreds of millions of people worldwide. In 2021 Ukraine
provided 30.9% of Egypt’s grain and wheat consumption; 7.7% of
Yemen’s; 7% of Bangladesh’s; 11.7% of Morocco’s.
Today’s agreement will entail joint controls for the checking of
grain in ports and establish a co-ordination centre in Istanbul.
There will now be an implementation period for the agreement
before commercial ships start moving grain.
--ENDS--
Background:
Recognising the importance of predictable food supplies, the UK
does not prohibit the export of Russian food and fertiliser to
third countries. We have not offered any sanctions relief to
reward Russia for allowing the legal and necessary export of
Ukrainian grain.
The Istanbul agreement follows intense international diplomacy.
The UK government has been relentless in highlighting this issue,
calling for urgent resolution and holding Russia to account.
The UK has also been providing practical support including:
- Contributing up to £10 million in
materials and equipment to Ukraine Railways to repair rail
infrastructure and help get grain out of the country by rail.
- £1.5 million to develop a testing
process to identify whether grain sold by Russia on the world
market has been illegally taken from Ukraine.
- £372 million for countries most
impacted by rising global food prices, which was announced at the
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in June.
- The UK and partners secured the
largest ever World Bank financial commitment to low income
countries around the world - $170 billion, supporting countries
faced with economic hardship as a result of Russia’s invasion of
Ukraine.
It is Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian ports and shelling of
civilian infrastructure (including grain transhipment facilities)
which is stopping exports (estimated to be 20+ million metric
tonnes of grain). The blockade will also significantly impact the
next harvest.
- Declassified US intelligence, and
satellite imagery, confirm the Russian Navy were ordered to lay
mines at the ports of Odesa and Ochakiv. US also has evidence
that Russian mined the Dnipro River – all with the aim of causing
the cessation of maritime trade.
- Russia has consistently targeted
grain related infrastructure. On 4 June, Russia destroyed
Ukraine’s second largest grain storage facility – decimating,
possibly, millions of tonnes of food stuffs from wheat to
soybeans in Mykolaiv.
