Operational update from the Office of the UN Coordinator for the Black sea Grain Initiative, 15 JULY 2023

Overview   
Almost one year into the Initiative, a total of 32.8 million tons of grain and foodstuffs has been exported from the three designated Ukrainian ports under the Initiative. Ships made 1,003 voyages from the ports, including 35 that had been stranded since February 2022.   

With decision on renewal approaching on 17 July, there is only one vessel remaining under the Initiative; the vessel TQ SAMSUN is loading cargo in Odesa port. The Joint Coordination Centre (JCC), charged with implementing the agreement, has received 29 applications from vessels located in Turkish waters.   

The applications have not been approved by all parties. No new ships have been approved to participate since 27 June.   

Commercial shipping to and from Ukrainian Black Sea ports was halted in February 2022 on safety grounds. The “Initiative for safe transportation of grain and foodstuffs from Ukrainian ports”, as originally titled, was signed in July 2022 in Istanbul by the Russian Federation, Türkiye and Ukraine to provide safe passage to merchant vessels via a maritime humanitarian corridor. The United Nations signed as witness and was requested by the parties to facilitate its implementation. The 22 July agreement allows for the export of fertilizer, including ammonia, but none has been shipped under the Initiative.   

Since 29 April, no vessel has been allowed to move to the port of Yuzhny/Pivdennyi, one of the three ports included in the Initiative.   

Key facts and figures one year into the Initiative: https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/07/1138532 

Exports     

Grain and other foodstuffs have been exported to 45 countries in three continents, 46% to Asia, 40% to Western Europe, 12% to Africa and 1% to Eastern Europe. The commodities are corn (51%), wheat (27%), sunflower meal (6%), sunflower oil (5%), barley (4%), rapeseed (3%), and others (4%).

Destinations

Of the two top commodities, 90% of corn and 60% of wheat has been exported under the Initiative to high and upper-middle-income countries; 10% of corn and 40% of wheat has been exported to low and lower-middle-income countries. Compared to the total exports from 2017-2021, the Initiative has delivered the same proportion to low-income countries as Ukraine’s previous trading patterns, but a higher proportion to high or upper-middle-income countries.

 
Notes: 2017-2021 covers all Ukraine’s exports by any route according to UN COMTRADE data; the Black Sea Initiative exports are recorded by JCC only from the three ports. Wheat is commodity code 1001, corn 1005.  Totals may not be 100 due to rounding.  

Humanitarian shipments   
 

As of July 2023, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) so far procured 80 per cent of this year’s purchases of wheat grain from Ukraine via the Initiative, up from 50 per cent in 2021 and 2022. Since the beginning of the Initiative in July 2022, WFP shipped a total of 725,167 tons of wheat to help relieve hunger in Afghanistan, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. WFP’s chief economist discussed the Initiative in this video: https://youtu.be/iRpG2L9Ol_U        

Fertilizers, including ammonia    

The Initiative also provides for the export of fertilizer, including ammonia. There have been no such exports so far under the Initiative. Exports of ammonia under the Initiative would depend on the resumption of the ammonia pipeline from Togliatti in Russia to the Ukrainian port of Yuzhny/Pivdennyi. Damage to the pipeline was reported on 5 June, and its status is not known.    

Exports and vessel departures by month   

Detailed breakdowns: https://www.un.org/en/black-sea-grain-initiative/data       

Inspections   

Joint JCC teams inspect all ships on their inbound and outbound voyages. In July 2023, less than one ship inspection per day has been completed. The average time for a completed inspection lengthened from 2 hours and 12 minutes in February (149 inspections) to 4 hours and 12 minutes in July (11 inspections).     

More data on vessel movements and inspections: https://www.un.org/en/black-sea-grain-initiative/vessel-movements

Detailed data: https://www.un.org/en/black-sea-grain-initiative/data

For operational inquiries, please write to: ops@jcc-secretariat.org

For media inquiries, please write to: media@jcc-secretariat.org