The Black Sea Grain Initiative, signed in Istanbul
in July 2022 to resume vital food and fertiliser exports from designated
Ukrainian seaports, has been extended.
A note to correspondents from the Office of the
Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General announced the extension recently.
“The
initiative allows for the facilitation of the safe navigation for the exports
of grain and related foodstuffs and fertilisers, including ammonia, from
designated Ukrainian seaports,” the note said.
During the first two terms of the initiative, some
25 million metric tons of grain and foodstuffs have been moved to 45 countries,
helping to bring down global food prices and stabilising the markets, according
to the note.
The Black Sea Grain Initiative, alongside the
Memorandum of Understanding on promoting Russian food products and fertilisers
to the world markets, are critical for global food security, especially for the
most vulnerable countries.
Developing countries benefit the most
UNCTAD’s report, “A Trade Hope: The impact of the
Black Sea Grain Initiative”, published on March 9, said developing countries
have benefited the most from the initiative, supporting food security among the
most vulnerable.
But
this progress is fragile and price pressures remain. While food prices have gone
down from their all-time high at the start of the war, they’re still high
compared to pre-crisis levels.
“Moreover, currency depreciations prevent many
developing countries from benefiting from global price decreases, and, in the
most severe cases, prices have even gone up,” the report said.
The report said the UN remains committed to both
agreements, and to remove all remaining impediments that constrain access of
food and fertilisers from the Russian Federation and Ukraine to global markets,
informed a release.