UN confirms extension of deal to ensure Ukraine’s Black Sea grain exports

(AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)

The UN has announced an extension of a four-month-old deal to ensure the safe delivery of exports of grain, foodstuffs and fertilisers from Ukraine through the Black Sea, days before it was set to expire.

Secretary-general Antonio Guterres said the UN is also “fully committed” to removing obstacles that have impeded the export of food and fertiliser from Russia, which is one of two agreements struck between the two countries and Turkey in July.

The deals signed in Istanbul are aimed to help bring down prices of food and fertiliser and avoid a global food crisis.

It has so far enabled Ukraine to export more than 11 million metric tons of wheat and Russia to ship its grain and fertiliser to world markets.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier that he expected the renewal for at least 120 days, calling it a “key decision in the global fight against the food crisis”.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, saw growing food shortages and rocketing prices that left millions of people, especially in developing countries, unable to buy enough to eat.

Russia’s UN ambassadors complained last month that more needed to be done to facilitate its exports of grain and fertilisers.