The interruption of exports, notably cereals, following the outbreak of the Ukrainian war in February 2022 by Russia, severely affected world supply chains. In response, the European Union and the United Nations have organised a series of initiatives aimed at ensuring the world's food safety, for fear that hunger will spread, according to Farm Europe's.

"Targeting third countries heavily cereal-dependent however, remains a priority. In fact, the countries most dependent on Ukrainian and Russian wheat imports and therefore the most vulnerable to market disruptions are: Somalia (100%), Benin (100%), Laos (94%), Egypt (82%), Sudan (75%), Democratic Republic of congo (69%), Senegal (66%) and Tanzania (64%). As reported on July 11, only 138,000 tons of wheat were exported through Romania and Poland, which required additional emergency measures," he said.

The United Nations took on this challenge by launching the Black Sea Grain Initiative, coordinating with representatives from Turkey, Russia and Ukraine. The first ship that managed to leave Ukraine after months of blockade under this agreement was the Razoni, on August 1, 2022, carrying a total of 26,537 tons of corn. Subsequently, many other ships followed under the aegis of the Joint Coordination Joint Centre (JCC), established under the Black Sea Cereals Initiative on 27 July 2022.

"Unlocking Ukrainian exports by sea was essential to release the more than 20 million tons of grain (about 6.6 million tons of wheat, 13.6 million tons of corn and 400,000 tons of barley) that were blocked in Ukrainian ports, worth about US$10 billion," he concludes.

Source: Agrolink