Exports of foodstuffs from Odesa ports decreased by third over past week

Exports of foodstuffs from Odesa ports through the "grain corridor" decreased by a third over the past week due to sabotage by the Russian side.

Spokesperson for the Odesa Regional Military Administration Serhiy Bratchuk said this at a briefing at Media Center Ukraine - Ukrinform.

"Over the past week, 18 ships exported 664,000 tonnes of foodstuffs from the ports of Great Odesa. Unfortunately, this is a third less than the week before the previous one," Bratchuk noted.

He emphasized that the decrease in the volume of exports is not related to storms or problems in energy supply, but to the fact that the Russian side is sabotaging and delaying the inspection of ships that sail to and from the ports of Odesa.

According to Bratchuk, 60,000 tonnes of wheat were sent to Kenya, 56,000 tonnes to Bangladesh, and 60,000 tonnes of vegetable oil to India.

As reported by Ukrinform, in Istanbul on November 17, Ukraine, the United Nations, and Turkey agreed to extend the initiative for the safe transportation of agricultural products across the Black Sea for another 120 days. It was launched on July 22, and the first ship with Ukrainian foodstuffs left the port of Odesa on August 1.

As of the end of January 2023, Ukraine sent 675 ships carrying 18.4 million tonnes within the framework of the grain initiative. The share of Africa is 2.3 million tonnes, Asia – 5.1 million tonnes, Europe – 7.5 million tonnes, the Middle East – 3.4 million tonnes.

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