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Ukrainian grain shipments decline as vessel inspections slow
来源：shippingazette 编辑：编辑部 发布：2023/02/22 14:14:14
THE amount of grain leaving Ukraine has dropped despite a UN-brokered deal to keep food flowing with inspections of ships falling to half what they were four months ago as a backlog of vessels grows, reports the Voice of America.
Ukrainian and US officials blame Russia for slowing down inspections, which Moscow denies. Less wheat, barley and other grain getting out of Ukraine, dubbed the "breadbasket of the world,¡± raises concerns about those in hungry Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia that rely on cheap food from the Black Sea region.
The hurdles come as separate agreements brokered last summer by Turkey and the UN to keep supplies moving from the warring nations and reduce soaring food prices are up for renewal next month.
Russia is also a top global supplier of wheat, other grain, sunflower oil and fertiliser, and officials have complained about the holdup in shipping the nutrients critical to crops.
Under the deal, food exports from three Ukrainian ports have dropped from 3.7 million tonnes in December to three million in January, according to the Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) in Istanbul.
That's where inspection teams from Russia, Ukraine, the UN and Turkey ensure that the ships carry agricultural produce but no weapons.
The drop in supply equates to about a month of food consumption for Kenya and Somalia combined. It follows average inspections per day slowing to 5.7 last month and six so far this month, down from the peak of 10.6 in October.
That has helped lead to backups in the number of vessels waiting in the waters off Turkey to either be checked or join the Black Sea Grain Initiative. There are 152 ships in line, the JCC said, a 50 per cent increase from January.
Ukrainian and US officials blame Russia for slowing down inspections, which Moscow denies. Less wheat, barley and other grain getting out of Ukraine, dubbed the "breadbasket of the world,¡± raises concerns about those in hungry Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia that rely on cheap food from the Black Sea region.
The hurdles come as separate agreements brokered last summer by Turkey and the UN to keep supplies moving from the warring nations and reduce soaring food prices are up for renewal next month.
Russia is also a top global supplier of wheat, other grain, sunflower oil and fertiliser, and officials have complained about the holdup in shipping the nutrients critical to crops.
Under the deal, food exports from three Ukrainian ports have dropped from 3.7 million tonnes in December to three million in January, according to the Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) in Istanbul.
That's where inspection teams from Russia, Ukraine, the UN and Turkey ensure that the ships carry agricultural produce but no weapons.
The drop in supply equates to about a month of food consumption for Kenya and Somalia combined. It follows average inspections per day slowing to 5.7 last month and six so far this month, down from the peak of 10.6 in October.
That has helped lead to backups in the number of vessels waiting in the waters off Turkey to either be checked or join the Black Sea Grain Initiative. There are 152 ships in line, the JCC said, a 50 per cent increase from January.