The first ship contracted to carry Ukrainian grain directly to famine-stricken regions of the Horn of Africa since the Russian invasion halted food exports six months ago will arrive in Ukraine on Friday, officials said. UN officials.
The UN-chartered bulk carrier, the Brave Commander, is due to dock at the port of Yuzhny in southern Ukraine, where it will be loaded with grain purchased by the UN’s World Food Program and distributed to “the most affected by the global food crisis,” said program spokesman Steve Taravella.
The UN last month brokered an agreement between Ukraine and Russia allowing grain shipments to break through a months-long Russian blockade. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the pact would ease global food shortages, calling it an “emergency beacon”.
So far, none of the 14 grain-laden ships that have left Ukraine are heading for countries facing food shortages. This is largely because they move grain purchased under commercial contracts.
The UN-chartered Brave Commander will ferry 23,000 tons of grain to Djibouti for distribution in the Horn of Africa, where a four-year drought has left 18 million people facing severe starvation. According to the World Food Program, an additional 7,000 metric tons are expected to be shipped soon on another vessel. Before the war, Ukraine supplied about 45 million metric tons of grain annually to the world market, according to the United Nations.
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Mr. Talavera said officials hope the Brave Commander shipment will be the first of what will become regular shipments.
Oleksandr Kubrakov, Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine, announced the arrival of the brave commander in a Tweeter Thursday, saying the grain would go to Ethiopia. Mr Taravella said some would also go to Kenya and Somalia.
UN officials said trade plays a role in stabilizing the market, even if it does not go directly to countries facing food shortages. Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary-general’s office, said the unblocking of Ukrainian ports had already lowered global food prices, which would ultimately help countries facing food insecurity.
“The first wave is to get these ships out of Ukrainian ports because they’ve been there for a long time,” he said. “Other ships will arrive, all with commercial contracts. Some of them will go to developing countries. Others will go to other destinations.
The market, however, is not always efficient at getting grain to where it is needed. The first ship that left Odessa, Ukraine last week, laden with grain, was heading for Lebanon, the country with the highest food inflation rate. But the buyer said he didn’t want any more grain because it was too late. It will now be resold.
Wheat prices had fallen even before the UN-brokered agreement, and this trend has continued since the agreement was signed. A commonly referenced futures contract traded in Chicago was trading around $8.10 on Wednesday, down sharply from a high of over $14 in March, shortly after Russia first invaded Ukraine. Prices are now close to their level at the start of the year.
Prices are still likely to be volatile. The deal, along with lower demand from some countries due to high prices and an increased supply of winter crops, eased pressure on prices. But there are concerns about whether the deal will last; and hot, dry weather that reduces crop yields is becoming more common.
Ruth Maclean and Joe Rennison contributed report.