Four ships to depart Ukraine laden with exports

United Nations Press Office stated that the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul granted clearance, on Saturday, for four ships laden with commodities to depart Ukrainian ports on Sunday under the grain agreement.

The operational update, according to the office, said that "The Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) has authorized the departure of five new vessels through the maritime humanitarian corridor under the Black Sea Grain Initiative: four vessels outbound from Chornomorsk and Odesa carrying 161,084 metric tons of foodstuffs and one inbound."

On July 22, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, and Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov signed a grain deal mediated by the United Nations in Istanbul.

The signing of the agreement was preceded by a meeting of Russian, Ukrainian, and Turkish military delegations with UN officials, in order to hold talks on a possible agreement to resume safe exports of Ukrainian grain from the main Black Sea port of Odessa. The agreement includes the Ukrainian ports overlooking the Black Sea in Odessa and two neighboring sites.

Russia and Ukraine play a vast role in the international arena when it comes to wheat and grain exports. They account for an estimated 30% of global exports of wheat, 20% of maize, and 76% of sunflower.

Various organizations and countries have been calling for curtailing the rising food prices and delivering crops to regions facing acute food crises as soon as possible, and the latest development could help in that regard.