Ukraine grain exports rise in July – ministry

Ukraine’s grain exports for the first month of the new season rose to 2.16 million metric tons as of July 31 from 1.61 million in July 2022, informed agriculture ministry data on Monday.

The volume included 1.11 million tons of corn, 758,000 tons of wheat and 285,000 tons of barley.

The ministry said Ukraine had exported 1.1 million tons of corn, 361,000 tons of wheat and 142,000 tons of barley in July, 2022.

Exports for the entire 2022/23 season were almost 49 million tons, exceeding the previous season’s 48.4 million tons.

Most of the volume was exported via deep Black Sea ports under a deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July to tackle a global food crisis worsened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and blockade of Ukrainian ports.

Russia left the deal on July 17 after saying its demands to ease sanctions on its own grain and fertilizer exports had not been met. Moscow also complained that not enough grain had reached poor countries.

A major grain grower and exporter, Ukraine’s grain output dropped to about 53 million tons in clean weight in calendar 2022, down from a record 86 million tons in 2021.

The ministry has said the crop could fall to 46 million tons of grain in 2023.

Tags: deal, United Nations, Black Sea ports, Ukraine, Russia, exports, corn, Turkey, grain, barley, wheat