In a bid to get more grain exports moving, Ukraine’s parliament has approved a $500m insurance fund to offer compensation for any ships damaged calling at its ports.
Ukraine is gearing up to renegotiate the terms of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, a deal with warring foe Russia created in July last year which allows Kyiv to export grain from three Black Sea ports.
Due for renewal every three months, the current deal runs out on March 18. Ukrainian officials have made it clear they will try to negotiate a one-year extension of the grain pact, rather than having to renegotiate every three months, while government officials are also keen to get other ports including Mykolaiv included in the shipping agreement as well as as other commodities such as steel.
Deputy prime minister Oleksandr Kubrakov tweeted on Friday: “We’re working on resuming delivery & expanding the range of products. I invite countries of the civilized world & interested businesses to cooperate.”
Ukraine will also seek an increase in the number of inspection teams in Turkish waters in order to eliminate the ship queue that has grown considerably this month, stymying export volumes.
Delays in inspections of ships to and from Ukraine have been a point of contention between Russia and Ukraine. To reduce inspection delays, Ukraine is considering increasing the minimum size for ships carrying grains from 15,000 to 25,000 dwt.
Ukraine’s dry bulk exports have plunged 77.8% during the first year of war with Russia, data from BIMCO shows.
Prior to the war, more than one-tenth of the world’s wheat and maize shipments came from Ukraine.
Looking at the number of similar articles on this matter, seems, not everything is going well in negotiations. What about hungry African countries narrative this time? Why the heck does Putin allow all these ships move? EU feeds pigs with cheap Ukrainian grain and same time impose more and more sanctions on Russia.
How much grain has been moved under the current agreement terms? There was a lot of noise at the outset that the inability to move the grain would limit the 2023 planting season. This all seems a bit opaque at present.