KYIV, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Ukraine has exported almost
26.3 million tonnes of grain so far in the 2022/23 season, down
from the 37.9 million tonnes exported by the same stage of the
previous season, agriculture ministry data showed on Monday.
The volume included about 9.4 million tonnes of wheat, 14.9
million tonnes of corn and about 1.8 million tonnes of barley.
The ministry said grain exports so far in January had
reached 3.5 million tonnes as of Jan. 30, down from 5.5 million
tonnes in the same period last year.
After an almost six-month blockade caused by Russia's
invasion of Ukraine, three Ukrainian Black Sea ports were
unblocked at the end of July under a deal between Moscow and
Kyiv brokered by the United Nations and Turkey.
The infrastructure ministry on Monday said that a total of
18 ships carrying 664,000 tonnes of agricultural goods left
Ukrainian ports last week, a third less than the previous week.
"In the Bosphorus, the Russian side in the Joint
Coordination Centre (JCC) continues to block the implementation
of the initiative and artificially increase the queue of ships,"
the ministry said on Facebook.
It said that 117 vessels were awaiting inspection in Turkish
territorial waters as of Jan. 30, including 92 that are heading
west to ports for loading and 25 that are already carrying
agricultural products.
It said that over the past week only 20 inspections took
place, compared with the ministry's minimum requirement of 84.
"These factors hinder the implementation of the grain
initiative: we are seeing a decrease in exports by almost 30%
compared to the previous month," the ministry said.
A major global grain grower and exporter, Ukraine's grain
output is likely to drop to about 51 million tonnes in 2022 from
a record 86 million tonnes in 2021. Officials have blamed the
fall on hostilities in the country's eastern, northern and
southern regions.
(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk
Editing by David Goodman)
pavel.polityuk.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
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