1.2 million tons of grain have been exported from Ukraine aboard grain ships in August. However, most of the grain has not ended up where it is most needed.
More than 60 ships have left Ukraine since the UN, Turkey, Ukraine and Russia reached an agreement in July to secure grain shipments from three Ukrainian ports: Odessa, Chornomorsk and Pivdenny.
Since the signing of the agreement, a total of more than one million tons of agricultural products have left Ukraine.
In July, the Secretary General of the UN Antonio Guterres said the agreement is important because it will bring relief to food shortages in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East.
This week it was reported that the first shipment of humanitarian food aid to Africa reached its destination in Djibouti.
Another ship is currently on its way to Yemen.
Where have the other grain ships gone?
During August, 62 ships left Ukrainian ports, transporting a total of 1,472,000 tons of grain and other agricultural products.
In addition to wheat, the ships are loaded with, among other things, corn, sunflower oil, barley, sugar beet, rapeseed and soy.
For example, seven shiploads of wheat, corn and sunflower oil have been exported to Italy.
In Europe, individual ships have gone to Romania, Spain, Holland, Ireland, Germany, France and Greece, a total of more than 20 ships.
Agricultural products other than wheat have mainly been exported to Asian countries, such as South Korea, China and India.
A total of ten ships have sailed to countries in Africa and the Middle East during August.
The war stopped the ships
The share of rich Western countries in the statistics is partly explained by the fact that these ships were supposed to set sail already in February, but the war stopped traffic from Black Sea ports.
The Navi Star ship was supposed to leave the port of Odessa already on February 24, but the ship was unable to go due to the attack launched by Russia.
The war disrupted the entire shipping logistics and exposed how vulnerable global supply chains are.
For example, the first grain ship that left Ukraine never arrived at the port of Tripoli in Lebanon as planned.
The Razoni was inspected two days after departure in the Bosphorus and was due to continue to Tripoli, but the original buyer canceled the deal, apparently citing quality issues.
At least part of the grain cargo transported by Razon remained in Syria.
According to UN data, the destination of the Razoni ship, which left the Ukrainian port of Odessa on August 1, was still unclear on Thursday.
Food aid to Ethiopia and Yemen
The first ship carrying humanitarian aid left the Black Sea port in mid-August.
On August 16, the UN World Food Aid (WFP) reported that 23,000 tons of wheat left the Ukrainian port of Pivdenny on board the ship Brave Commander.
According to WFP, the grain cargo can feed 1.5 million inhabitants of the drought-stricken area for a month.
Ukraine’s grain is vital for the countries of the Horn of East Africa, which are currently suffering from the worst drought in 40 years, said the country director of the Church’s foreign aid in Somalia Ikali Karvinen Ylen Ykkösaamu on Thursday.
– It has been suggested that, for example, 90 percent of the wheat would come from the Black Sea region, and that is a huge amount, Karvinen said.
The WFP has warned that a prolonged drought could lead to a catastrophic famine in the Horn of Africa at any moment.
A total of 82 million people in East Africa are currently in need of food aid.
WFP’s second ship carrying food aid set sail this week. It is scheduled to transport 37,500 tons of wheat to civil war-ravaged Yemen, where up to five million people are at risk of starvation.
The amounts of grain delivered by WFP in August are significantly lower than before the war.
In 2021 WFP delivered (you switch to another service) a total of 4.4 million tons of food aid to African countries. Two thirds of the food aid delivered by the organization came from Ukraine.
Transport slows down, future uncertain
The UN said last week that Ukraine’s grain shipments should be significantly increased in order to empty the country’s grain silos for the new crop.
UN Coordinator Amir Abdulla according to this would mean that millions more tons of grain should be exported from Ukraine in the near future.
Despite the agreement reached in Istanbul in July, ships are still moving slowly, as freight costs have almost doubled compared to pre-war times.
Ukraine’s grain transport is hampered by sea mines in the Black Sea and fear of possible new attacks by Russia.
There is also no information on how long the war will last. Grain contracts are usually concluded for two years at a time, and no new contracts are dared to be concluded now, because the situation in Ukraine in the next few years is unclear.
In addition, the grain agreement secured by the UN and Turkey is only valid for 120 days. The agreement can be extended in mid-November if Russia and Ukraine agree to it.