Over 32 million tons of food products have been exported in nearly one year since the launch of the Black Sea Grain Initiative to allow the transportation of agricultural products from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports. The Initiative has allowed the World Food Program (WFP) to transport over 725,000 tons of wheat to help people in need in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
This is stated in a United Nations report, the CFTS portal reports.
According to the United Nations, the partial resumption of Ukrainian maritime exports enabled by the Grain Initiative has unblocked vital food commodities and helped reverse spiking global food prices, which reached record highs shortly before the agreement was signed.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Food Price Index recorded a steady monthly decline over the past year, dropping more than 23% from its peak in March 2022, the report states.
According to the report, the FAO Food Price Index stood at 140.6 in July 2022, when the Black Sea Grain Initiative was unveiled. It has fallen 11.6% since then, reaching 122.3 points in June 2023.
The UN also noted that Ukraine was one of the leading exporters of grain and the leading global exporter of sunflower oil before the Russian invasion. Its produce must continue to flow unhindered to supply markets and help to contain prices, the report states, it added.
The United Nations also cited data showing that supplies transported under the Black Sea Grain Initiative by WFP are directly supporting people in need in humanitarian crises and that WFP procured 80% of its global wheat grain from Ukraine under the Black Sea Grain Initiative as of July 2023, up from 50% in 2021 and 2022.
As reported earlier, Russia has increased the export of its agricultural products and consequently its global market share against the backdrop of the blocking of grain exports from Ukrainian ports.
