The Black Sea Grain Initiative is stopped

The Joint Coordination Center (JCC) in Istanbul has announced that it is impossible to draw up an inspection plan for June 1 due to another unreasonable refusal of the Russian delegation to register the incoming fleet for participation in the Initiative.

Thus, during two days, on May 30 and 31, Russia registered only 1 incoming vessel for inspection at the port of Chornomorsk without explanation, while other parties to the JCC confirmed 10 vessels for three ports to participate in the Black Sea Grain Initiative. There are 50 vessels waiting in line for inspection in Turkish territorial waters, with 2.4 million tons of food for the world, including grain, which is expected by at least ten countries, including Turkey, Egypt, Bangladesh, and Pakistan: Turkey, Egypt, Bangladesh, and China. Accordingly, the less food is supplied to these countries, the higher the food prices for the population there.

Some vessels have been waiting for JCC inspections for more than 3 months. This is more than $1 billion in losses that affect the final cost of food for the world. Thus, Russia has once again found a way to limit the world's food supply.

“Blocking the registration of a new incoming fleet, as well as blocking the largest port Pivdennyi, is a gross violation of the terms of the Grain Initiative, to which the aggressor country has signed up. In total, during the 43rd week of operation of this export channel, from May 22 to 28, 2023, only 4 vessels were shipped from the ports of Greater Odesa (as a week ago), and 15 vessels passed the entry inspection. With such indicators, it will be extremely difficult to export the surplus products stored in Ukraine before the new harvest arrives. The Russian side continues to slow down the work of this export channel,” commented Andriy Dykun, Chairman of the Ukrainian Agri Council and SaveUA Charity Foundation.

The Ukrainian delegation sent a letter to the JCC Secretariat demanding to resume full-fledged work with 3 inspection teams and 9 inspections per day, as required by the JCC procedures. Ukrainian inspectors are currently in the JCC and are ready to start working immediately if the registration of vessels is resumed.

We hope that the partners of the Initiative will find a solution and stop this blackmail of the whole world by Russia. After all, the importance of the Grain Initiative has already been proven by the global food market, and the world should not remain silent.

It is worth reminding that over 10 months of the Grain Initiative's operation, more than 30.5 million tons of Ukrainian agrarians' products have been exported. For seven months now, the Russian delegation to the JCC has been sabotaging and hampering the work, resulting in a loss of at least 20 million tons of food to the world.