15 May / 2024
More than a million tons of agricultural products are on ships in the Bosphorus, and millions more are blocked in Odessa ports. Denys Marchuk, Deputy Chairman of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council, spoke about this on the FREEDOM TV channel, commenting on the work of the “grain agreement” between Ukraine and Russia through the mediation of the UN and Turkey.
Marchuk recalled that since August 1, more than 9 million tons of grain have been exported through the ports of Odessa with the help of the “grain corridor”.
“This is a really good indicator that Ukraine is fulfilling its obligations. She signed the agreement and acts within the framework of this document. Therefore, the whole world is waiting for the continuation of the “grain corridor,” – he said.
The well-being and food security of many countries in the world depend on how Ukrainian grain will be exploited, Marchuk stressed.
“One of the factors that confirms this is the statement of the World Food Organization, where they say that since the ports of Odessa began to work in the world, food prices have dropped. In fact, they have become the same as in the pre-war period, which were recorded back in February. Until that time, prices have been rising, ” – the expert clarified.
Marchuk stressed that Russia has no right, in fact, to unilaterally block and slow down the passage of ships with Ukrainian grain.
“Without such a right, they act with all sorts of cunning methods. That is, they do not say directly that they will not carry out inspections of ships. Technically, someone can get sick. If there is no one representative, then you need to reschedule the check. Or, for example, the ship needs to be checked at night. And they say: no, I won’t go at night, because it’s scary to go out to sea. That is, they find thousands of reasons for this process to drag on. One ship can pass two or three hours, and one can stand for 12 hours. Therefore, we have the problem that has developed today in the Bosphorus,”- Marchuk explained.
In addition to the fact that the ships are standing, they suffer financial losses, he stressed. According to him, Ukraine promptly unloads products on ships, and the Russian Federation delays the inspection. Thus, the loss from downtime per day is from 10 to 50 thousand dollars per ship.
“This is food not received in time for those continents that are waiting for it. But it is also actually an emergency situation in the Bosphorus, because already today more than 175 ships are waiting for their turn. Therefore, today we need to continue the grain initiative. And to talk about the fact that the number of representatives who could work in accordance with the work of the UN Convention, who check the ships, it needs to be increased so that the check passes faster, ”the expert said.
According to his estimates, more than 1 million tons of grain currently stand in the Bosporus. But millions more tons are now actually blocked in the ports of Odesa because they cannot unload on time, as the ships are standing still.
As previously reported, on July 22 in Istanbul, at the proposal of the United Nations of Ukraine, Turkey and UN Secretary-General António Guterres signed the Initiative for the safe transportation of grain and food from the Ukrainian ports of Odesa, Chornomorsk, and Pivdennyi.
The grain corridor has been operational since August 1, when the first ship with Ukrainian food left the port of Odesa.
Read also: ‘We have nothing to hide’ – Ukrainian MFA on the Russian ‘dirty bomb’ false claims against Ukraine
