Black Sea Grain Initiative extended on deadline day

The announcement was made in Note for CorrespondentsThis is stated in a statement by the press service of the UN Secretary-General, published on Saturday, which emphasizes that the Initiative allows “to promote safe shipping for the export of grain and related food products and fertilizers, including ammonia, from certain Ukrainian seaports.”

After the invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops in February 2022, the Initiative became one of the few areas in which the Russian and Ukrainian governments were able to reach an agreement. It arose in response to a sharp increase in the prices of food and fertilizers around the world: Russia and Ukraine are the main suppliers of these products to world markets, and their export opportunities have been significantly reduced since the outbreak of hostilities.

Since the Initiative was signed in July 2022, some 25 million metric tons of grain and food have been moved to 45 countries, and the initiative is credited with helping lower global food prices, which hit a dizzying high in March 2022. Prices started to drop after the Initiative had been implemented and dropped by about 18 percent a year later.

The deal was brokered by the United Nations and the Turkish government, which was thanked in a statement for its diplomatic and operational support: under the agreement Joint Focal Point (CCM) was established in Istanbul to monitor the implementation of the Initiative.

The note to reporters reaffirms the UN’s strong commitment to both agreements and describes the Black Sea Grain Initiative, along with the Memorandum of Understanding to Promote Russian Food and Fertilizers to World Markets, as “critical to global food security, especially for developing countries.” “.