Tag: grain

EU chief proposes raising tariffs on Russian grain

BRUSSELS, Belgium, March 22, 2024 (AFP) – EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said Thursday Brussels was proposing raising tariffs on Russian and Belarusian grain to protect Europe’s farmers and punish Moscow over its war on Ukraine. The announcement came hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky complained to EU leaders that it was not fair Russian grain continued to have “unrestricted” access to their markets, while Ukrainian imports were being limited. “It will prevent Russian […]

Ukraine says ship carrying wheat leaves port for Egypt

KYIV, Ukraine, Sept 22, 2023 (AFP) – A ship carrying wheat has left a Ukrainian port and was heading to Egypt, the second such trip since Russia reimposed its Black Sea blockade in July, a minister said Friday. The Palau-flagged Aroyat vessel left Chornomorsk after being loaded with 17,600 tonnes of grain, Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on social media. Ukraine is testing a new sea route that avoids international waters and follows those controlled […]

Russia warns of Black Sea risks after grain deal exit

KYIV, Ukraine, July 18, 2023 (AFP) – Russia on Tuesday issued a veiled warning over the future of grain exports via the Black Sea, after Moscow refused to extend a key agreement allowing safe passage for cargo ships from Ukrainian ports. The caution came hours after Ukraine said a Russian strike overnight had damaged facilities at the southern port of Odesa, one of the main transit hubs for grain under the pact signed with the […]

Ukraine activates air defenses in Odesa region

KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — Ukraine activated aerial defenses in coastal Odesa early Tuesday, authorities said, hours after Russia refused to extend a deal allowing the safe export of grain from the region. “Odesa. Air defense combat work continues,” said Sergiy Bratchuk, spokesman for the Odessa military region, on Telegram. The Odesa region in southern Ukraine is home to maritime terminals that were key to the expired grain export agreement between Moscow and Kyiv. Russia was […]

Ukraine grain deal expires after Russia refuses extension

MOSCOW, July 17, 2023 (AFP) – The deal allowing Ukraine to safely export grain to global markets via the Black Sea expired at midnight in Istanbul (2100 GMT) after Russia refused an extension. The deadline was set when the arrangement, brokered by the UN and Turkey in July 2022 to avoid food shortages in vulnerable countries, was last extended for two months in May. The Kremlin on Monday said it was exiting the deal, having […]

Guterres proposes ‘way forward’ for Ukraine grain initiative

UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — United Nations chief Antonio Guterres presented a “way forward” on extending Ukrainian grain exports during a meeting with Russia Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in New York Monday, the UN said. Guterres gave Lavrov “a letter to President Vladimir Putin, outlining a proposed way forward aimed at the improvement, extension and expansion” of the deal, a spokesperson for the Secretary General said in a statement. An agreement has been in […]

Putin says Ukraine grain deal mostly helping rich EU

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that “almost all” the Ukrainian grain shipped under a UN-backed deal to ease a global food crisis was reaching rich European nations, an accusation denied by Kyiv. Data compiled by a joint center in Istanbul monitoring the July agreement showed slightly more than a third of the grain delivered to European countries and another 20 percent arriving in Turkey. It also showed 30 percent reaching […]

World food prices drop again after Ukraine grain pact: UN

  PARIS, France (AFP) — World food prices fell sharply in July, partly thanks to a deal between Ukraine and Russia lifting a sea blockade that had stopped Ukrainian grain shipments, a UN agency said Friday. Food prices soared to a record high in March after Russia invaded Ukraine, raising fears that the conflict between two of the world’s breadbaskets would spark hunger in countries relying on their exports. While prices remain high, they have […]

Turkey says three grain shipments to leave Ukraine Friday

ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — Three more ships filled with grain will sail from Ukraine on Friday under a UN-backed deal lifting Russia’s blockade of the Black Sea, Turkey’s defense minister said. “It is planned that three ships will set sail tomorrow from Ukraine,” Anadolu state news agency quoted Defence Minister Hulusi Akar as saying, one day after the first ship passed Istanbul on its way to Lebanon. Ankara also announced that Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut […]

First grain shipments to leave Ukraine ‘this week’: minister

Kyiv, Ukraine | AFP Kyiv expects the first grain deliveries under a UN-brokered deal to leave Ukrainian ports “this week”, Ukraine’s infrastructure minister said Monday, despite Russian strikes on Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odessa. “We expect the agreement to start working in the coming days,” Oleksandr Kubrakov, who led Ukraine’s delegation at grain talks in Turkey, told a press conference. “We are preparing for everything to start this week,” he added. Kubrakov also highlighted […]

Russia says Ukraine grain exports could be unlocked in ‘days’

Istanbul, Turkey | AFP Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said Friday that conditions were in place to unlock grain exports from Ukraine in the “next few days” and promised Moscow would not take advantage of de-mined Ukrainian ports. “Today we have all the prerequisites and all the solutions for this process to begin in the next few days,” Shoigu said, after signing a landmark deal with the United Nations and Turkey on resuming grain shipments. […]

Putin says West must remove restrictions on Russian grain exports

TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday said that the West must remove restrictions on exports of Russian grain. “We will facilitate the export of Ukrainian grain, but we are proceeding from the fact that all restrictions related to air deliveries for the export of Russian grain will be lifted,” Putin told reporters in Tehran after talks with the presidents of Iran and Turkey. Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine has hampered shipments […]