“This morning the first convoy of vessels with Ukrainian grain has left the Great Odesa ports,” Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said in a Facebook post, as cited by state news agency Ukrinform.
“Three bulk carriers, Navi Star, Rojen and Polarnet, are carrying 57,000 tonnes of Ukrainian-produced corn intended for Turkey, Great Britain and Ireland,” Kubrakov wrote.
He added: “We expect that the security guarantees of our partners from the U.N. and Turkey will continue to work, and food exports from our ports will become stable and predictable for all market participants.”
On Monday, the first ship carrying grain for world markets left the Ukrainian port of Odesa, according to officials.
The United Nations and Turkey last month brokered the safe passage deal between Moscow and Kyiv under which the grain left Ukraine, after the UN warned of famine due to food shipments from Ukraine being halted, the Reuters news agency reported.
Meanwhile, Kyiv is hoping for the deal to expand to other resources, according to Reuters.
“This agreement is about logistics, about the movement of vessels through the Black Sea,” Ukrainian Deputy Economy Minister Taras Kachka told the Financial Times. "What's the difference between grain and iron ore?”
Reuters reported that Moscow said a solution could only be found if linked to lifting restrictions on domestic metal producers.
(jh/gs)
Source: Ukrinform, Reuters