The Grain Initiative came to an end

On June 27, the Black Sea Grain Initiative came to an end. The agreement, negotiated by Turkey and the United Nations allowed ships to use a humanitarian corridor to transport food supplies.

However, Russia did not agreed to register any new vessels and the initiative expired Monday 17 July. As a result, the last ship carrying wheat under the Grain Agreement left the port of Odessa on July 16th.

Russia refused to extend the agreement. The authorities justified the decision by claiming that the promises had not been kept. Moscow wanted to have its own shipments of food and fertilizers to be freed. The Kremlin also wanted to be reconnected to the SWIFT international payment system. It said this had nothing to do with the attack on the Kerch Strait Bridge.

By ending the Grain Deal, Russia is jeopardizing food security. Ukraine is a major producer of grain and other foodstuffs. Ukraine has exported 32,8 million tonnes of grain and other agricultural products since the beginning of the initiative.

Alternatives routes are considered. River ports, though, are more expensive to use in terms of transportation cost. We can therefore expect a surge in food prices.