A landmark deal to allow grain exports from Ukraine, which was back on track Wednesday after being briefly suspended, has played a crucial role in easing a global food crisis sparked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Brokered by the United Nations and Turkey and signed by Moscow and Kyiv on July 22, the agreement established a protected sea corridor to allow grain shipments to resume for the first time since the fighting began in February<\/p>\n
Here is what we know about the deal, known as the Black Sea Grain Initiative:<\/p>\n
Why was it needed?<\/p>\n
When Russian troops attacked in late February, Moscow imposed a blockade on Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, halting all agricultural exports from one of the world’s breadbaskets.<\/p>\n
The move left 20 million metric tons of grain stranded in Ukraine’s ports, causing food prices to surge worldwide.<\/p>\n
Before the war, up to 90% of Ukraine’s wheat, corn and sunflower exports were transported by sea, mostly from Odesa, with many developing countries relying heavily on Kyiv for grain.<\/p>\n
Agricultural commodity prices were high before the war because of the post-COVID-19 economic recovery, but the conflict pushed the price of grains such as wheat and corn to levels unsustainable for countries dependent on their import, such as Egypt, Lebanon and Tunisia.<\/p>\n
What does the deal cover?<\/p>\n
The deal ensures the safe export of grain, foodstuffs and fertilizers, including ammonia, from three Black Sea ports in southwestern Ukraine: Odesa, Chornomorsk and Pivdennyi.<\/p>\n
The first grain ship to leave under the U.N.-backed deal set sail on August 1.<\/p>\n
According to U.N. figures as of November 1, a total of 9.7 million metric tons of grain and other agricultural products have been transported in the first three months of the initiative, the vast majority involving wheat and corn.<\/p>\n
Valid for 120 days, the agreement is up for renewal on November 19 in a process that can be done automatically without further negotiations.<\/p>\n
The U.N. says extending the deal is crucial for global food security and is pushing for it to be renewed for one year.<\/p>\n
Although the initiative is working well, shipments are about 40-50% lower than what they were before Russia’s invasion, the U.N. says.<\/p>\n
How does it work?<\/p>\n
According to the U.N.’s website, the agreement establishes a safe corridor between the three Ukrainian ports and an area in Turkish waters where the vessels are inspected before being allowed to continue their journey.<\/p>\n
To monitor the agreement, a joint command and control center was set up in Istanbul to oversee smooth operations and resolve disputes.<\/p>\n
Known as the Joint Coordination Center (JCC), the JCC has four teams of eight inspectors \u2014 two each from Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the U.N.<\/p>\n
These teams inspect outbound vessels carrying grain at the Turkish inspection area to ensure all merchandise is approved.<\/p>\n
The teams also examine empty ships returning to Ukraine to ensure they are not carrying any weapons or other unauthorized goods or people.<\/p>\n
Safe passage<\/p>\n
The deal establishes a buffer zone of 10 nautical miles around each vessel traveling along the corridor with no military ships, equipment or drones allowed within that radius.<\/p>\n
All ship movements logged by the JCC are transmitted to the relevant military authorities to prevent any incidents, with any violations or threats to be handled by the JCC.<\/p>\n
At the start of the war, Ukraine mined its main Black Sea ports to head off threats of a Russian attack from the sea, but experts said it would take too long to de-mine all these areas.<\/p>\n
The deal allows Ukrainians to guide the ships along safe routes that avoid known mine fields and into and out of its territorial waters.<\/p>\n
Deal briefly suspended<\/p>\n
On October 29, Russia said it was suspending its participation in the deal, accusing Ukraine of using the shipping corridor to launch a drone attack on its Black Sea fleet in Crimea’s Sevastopol port.<\/p>\n
After a call between the Russian and Turkish defense ministers, the deal resumed operation at 0900 GMT on November 2 with Moscow saying it had received written guarantees from Kyiv ensuring the corridor would not be used for attacking Russian forces.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Source: Voice of America<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A landmark deal to allow grain exports from Ukraine, which was back on track Wednesday after being briefly suspended, has played a crucial role in easing a global food crisis sparked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.Brokered by the United Nations and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n