UN works very closely with Ukrainian government on ‘grain deal’ almost every single day – Brown

The United Nations works very closely with the Ukrainian government on the ‘grain deal’ almost every single day and is absolutely committed to ensuring that the deal is extended.

The relevant statement was made by UN Resident Coordinator in Ukraine Denise Brown in an interview with Ukrinform.

“Food is moving. The grain is moving. There are impediments, though. Clearly. The Secretary-General has said it. We have the mechanisms and the JCC [Joint Coordination Center] in Istanbul to oversee this. We have the Under-Secretary-General who was here twice last year. We work very closely with your government on this almost every single day,” Brown said.

In her words, immediately after the war started, the price of food went up in March 2022.  In many countries around the world, the ordinary people whose life depends on what they earn every day became unable to afford food, while access to food is the basic human right. Meanwhile, the ‘grain deal’ allowed the food prices to go down by 18%.

“Let me say it this way: the UN is absolutely committed to ensuring that the deal is extended. Something like 350 million people globally is at risk of what we call food insecurity […]. We know you have something like 30 million tons that continues to need to be shipped out, and your farmers need this to happen. So, we need that initiative. Our efforts are very much focused on ensuring that this continues,” Brown stressed.

A reminder that the Ukrainian Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry expects that the ‘grain deal’ will be extended after March 20, 2023.