UN Secretary General Welcomes Extension of Black Sea Grain Export Deal, But Only 120 Days

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. (Wikimedia Commons/President of the Republic of Armenia)

JAKARTA - An agreement aimed at reducing global food shortages by facilitating Ukrainian agricultural exports from southern Black Sea ports has been extended for another 120 days.

Officially known as the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the deal, made by Russia, Ukraine, the United Nations, and Turkey, was initially reached in July. Create a protected sea transit corridor designed to reduce global food shortages, by allowing exports to resume from three ports in Ukraine, a major producer of grains and vegetable oils.

"I welcome the agreement of all parties to continue the Black Sea grain initiative to facilitate the safe navigation of grain, food, and fertilizer exports from Ukraine", UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement on Thursday, reported Reuters on November 17.

Further, Guterres said the UN was also "fully committed to removing remaining barriers to exporting food and fertilizers from the Russian Federation", part of a deal Moscow deems important.

It said Russia's ammonia exports via pipeline to the Black Sea had not been approved as part of the update, sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters.

"The renewal of the Black Sea grain initiative is good news for global food security and the developing world", Rebeca Grynspan, secretary general of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development said on Twitter, calling it a "beacon of hope".

"Solving the fertilizer crisis has to come next", Grynspan added.

However, this 120-day extension is far from what the United Nations and Ukraine wish to extend for one year.

It is known, the decline in shipments from Ukraine after the Russian invasion in February has played a role in the global food price crisis this year, in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic to droughts in Argentina and the United States.

Since July, about 11.1 million tonnes of agricultural products have been shipped under the grain deal, including 4.5 million tonnes of corn and 3.2 million tonnes of wheat.