Pivdennyi Port Excluded from Grain Initiative, UN Secretary-General Expresses Concern

UkrAgroConsult

Pivdennyi port was excluded from the grain initiative. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concern about this. This is stated on the UN website.

Guterres is also concerned about the slowdown in ship inspections, as this has led to a reduction in the movement of ships entering and leaving Ukrainian seaports and, as a result, a reduction in the supply of staple foods to world markets. “Food exports through the maritime humanitarian corridor have declined significantly from a peak of 4.2 million metric tons in October 2022 to 1.3 million metric tons in May, the lowest volume since the initiative began last year,” Guterres said in a statement.

The Secretary-General called on the parties to “accelerate operations” and urges them to “do everything possible to ensure the continuation of this vital agreement, which is due to be renewed on July 17.”

“The United Nations is fully committed to supporting the implementation of both the Black Sea Initiative and the Memorandum of Understanding on Russian Food and Fertilizer Exports to ensure that food and fertilizer exports, including ammonia, from the Russian Federation and Ukraine reach markets around the world safely,” the statement said.

Last month, the United Nations expressed concern that Ukraine’s Pivdennyi port had not received any vessels under the grain initiative since May 2.

In early June, Russia did resume registration of grain corridor vessels, but with violations. For example, Russia ignored ships that had been waiting for inspection for a long time.

Tags: Black Sea grain corridor, UN, Pivdennyi port