Ukraine grain exports reach 6.1 mln tons

Muhammed Kafadar - ISTANBUL

The sum of food exports from Ukraine to the world markets has reached 6.1 million tons since the establishment of the grain corridor through the Black Sea in August.

Some 268 ships passed through the grain corridor while about 60 of them are still waiting to be inspected.

Participating in the inspections carried out by the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) within the scope of the grain export agreement, the inspection activity begins with the meeting of the four parties to the agreement at the port in Istanbul’s Zeytinburnu district.

The group is divided into five teams, which consist of two representatives while each team operates on three or four ships a day.

One of the most important rules of inspection is not taking photos of Russian members.

Another rule is that while opening the doors, entering the warehouse area is forbidden as poisonous gas is injected into the warehouse to protect grain from pests.

While onboard, physical examination of the cargo and checking of all personnel’s passports are carried out while load and fuel quantity are calculated.

An official from the ship said that the vessel, which is found to be violated, is put on hold for re-inspection in a few days, adding that in general, lack of documents or unsafe gas levels in the warehouse are the primary reasons for the violation.

Pointing out that the route to Ukraine and loading are strictly controlled, the ship personnel stated that they were most afraid of mines on the way.

Meanwhile, the grain corridor agreement needs to be extended to reach the 20 million tons target in grain export.

On July 22, Türkiye, the U.N., Russia and Ukraine signed a deal with a duration of 120 days to reopen three Ukrainian ports for the export of Ukraine grain, which were stuck for months due to the Russia-Ukraine war.