790 ships have gone through ‘grain corridor’, Türkiye says

According to Defense Minister of Türkiye Hulusi Akar, the volume of grain shipments (wheat, corn, and barley), exceeded 23 million 400 thousand tonnes. At the same time, 40% of the grain was transported to Europe, 30% – to Asia, 13% – to Türkiye, 12% – to Africa, and 5% – to the countries of the Middle East, Hürriyet reports.

The minister also emphasized that Türkiye maintains contact with the parties to the "grain agreement" with the aim of extending it.

"We continue our negotiations with the UN, Ukraine, and Russia which are parties to the grain initiative. For the second time, Ukraine expressed its positive opinion regarding the continuation of the initiative. Russia also has a positive attitude towards this issue. We also hope and expect that the grain initiative will continue," Akar said.

As reported, 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 in Istanbul on November 17, 2022. The initiative was launched on July 22, 2022, and the first ship carrying Ukrainian foodstuffs left the port of Odesa on August 1. The agreement is valid until March 18, 2023.