UN, Turkey, and Ukraine agree on ships’ departure under a grain deal, but the prices rise

A travel schedule for 14 vessels in the Turkish seas was agreed to on Monday, October 31 by the United Nations, Turkey, and Ukraine as part of a grain agreement. According to Reuters’ report, the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul issued a statement.

The three delegations also agreed, according to the statement, to inspect 40 ships departing the port on Monday. The JCC added that these arrangements were communicated to the Russian delegation. Russians were just informed after their withdrawal from the agreement.

The decisions made by Kyiv, Ankara, and the UN on the movement of ships within the scope of the grain deal, according to a Russian source of the propaganda agency RIA Novosti, do not bind Moscow to anything.

“We stopped taking part and let the JCC know in writing about it. If judgments are made without our input, they do not oblige us in any way”, Russians said.

Russia withdrew from the grain deal after the attack on its ships in Sevastopol Bay

On October 29, Russia said that it was suspending its participation in carrying out the “grain deal,” purportedly as a result of the “terrorist incident” that took place in Sevastopol Bay on Saturday morning.

On November 30, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that it believed the maritime drones that attacked Black Sea Fleet ships on October 29 were fired from a civilian vessel near Odesa that was employed in the grain initiative based on an analysis of the navigation modules of the drones.

Attack on Russian ships was just an excuse for Moscow – Kuleba

The attack on Russian ships in the bay of occupied Sevastopol, according to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, was just an excuse for Moscow to back out of the “grain agreement,” as efforts to sabotage it had already started long before.

The Russians were described as “sick” by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for their claims that drones were allegedly launched at Black Sea Fleet ships in Sevastopol on October 29 from a civilian vessel used in the grain deal.

“What was said to the world? Someone from the grain carrier reportedly launches drones. Warbirds, war insects, and now killer wheat, from which Russian admirals are drowning, first were mentioned. How shall I put it? Sick people. But once more, these sick people put the world in danger of a devastating food catastrophe”, Zelensky said.

Zelensky emphasized that only Russia is to blame for the fact that food prices would increase over a large region, from West Africa to East Asia, and that people in Ethiopia, Yemen, or Somalia continue to face a severe food shortage.

Russian exit from the grain deal prevented the transit of 218 vessels

The ships carrying Ukrainian grain that have already arrived in Istanbul are being inspected, according to earlier information from the Turkish side, but no more grain carriers from Ukraine will be sent yet.

According to the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, Russia’s suspension of participation in the “grain agreement” prevented the transit of 218 vessels that were supposed to deliver grain from Ukraine.

Russia’s exit from the grain agreement caused grain prices to increase

Following Russia’s withdrawal from the deal to permit grain exports from Ukraine through the Black sea, world wheat futures increased.

Wheat prices in Chicago rose 7.7% to $8.9325 a bushel in early trading on Monday, but by 10:06 a.m. in Singapore, gains had been curbed to 5.9%.

Soybean oil rose by 3%, while corn increased by 2.8%. If the price rises continue, the most recent supply shortfall might exacerbate global food inflation and hunger.

“More than a fifth of the world’s corn exports, the majority of its supplies of sunflower oil, and more than a quarter of its shipments of wheat and barley all come from the Black Sea region. A major fertilizer export route that farmers depend on to produce enough crops may be in danger if the grain agreement was terminated early”, Bloomberg reported.