LONDON (HRNW) – Grain was flowing out of Ukraine at a record pace on Monday (Oct 31) under an initiative led by the United Nations aimed at easing global food shortages despite Russia warning it was risky to continue after it pulled out of the pact.
Russia said on Monday that the deal was hardly feasible as it was impossible to guarantee the safety of shipping after its withdrawal over the weekend following what it said was a major Ukrainian drone attack on its fleet in Crimea.
Other participants, however, were pressing ahead with the deal while France said it was talking to other European Union states about how to boost Ukraine grain exports via land routes.
Ukraine is one of the world s largest grain exporters and the conflict with Russia led to the closure of its seaports in February, driving up food prices and contributing to a steep rise in acute hunger across the globe.
The deal, signed on Jul 22, created a safe corridor to allow exports to resume from three Ukrainian ports and helped to ease the crisis with more than 9.5 million tonnes of corn, wheat, sunflower products, barley, rapeseed and soy exported under the pact.
UN aid chief Martin Griffiths said on Monday the corridor does not provide cover for military action, adding there were no ships involved in a deal were transiting it on the night of Oct 29, when Russia says its vessels in the Bay of Sevastopol in Crimea were attacked.