Good health to you, fellow Ukrainians!
The implementation of the Initiative on the export of Ukrainian grain and other agricultural products from our ports in the Black Sea began today. The first vessel carrying 26,000 tons of corn left the port of Odesa.
As of now, it is too early to draw any conclusions and predict further events. But the port started working, the export traffic started, and this can be called the first positive signal that there is a chance to stop the spread of the food crisis in the world.
Currently, everything depends on the implementation of the security parameters of the Initiative, which is the responsibility of the partners, primarily the United Nations and Turkey.
We cannot have the illusions that Russia will simply refrain from trying to disrupt Ukrainian exports. Russia consistently provoked famine in the countries of Africa and Asia, which traditionally imported large volumes of Ukrainian food. And now - in conditions of extreme heat, as this year in Europe, the threat of a price crisis and a certain food shortage is also possible for some European countries.
So, we’ll see how the agreements will work and whether there will really be security. 16 vessels are already waiting their turn for departure, and we are ready to make a proper contribution to the stabilization of the world food market.