Black Sea ports, which represent a critical route for shipments, were shut, causing a big grain decrease since the beginning of the war. All of this rocketed global food prices and provoked fears of shortages in Africa and the Middle East.
Last month there was an agreement that led to unblocking the Ukrainian seaports and enabling departures of the ships carrying grain.
The ministry said that July’s exports contained:
- 412,000 tonnes of wheat.
- 183,000 tonnes of barley.
- 1M tonnes of corn.
- 362,100 tonnes of sunseed.
- Cargoes of other commodities.
Exports Might Still Be Down
In complete opposition, the ministry stated Ukrainian grain exports were still down nearly 52% yearly at 2.2M tonnes in the 2022/23 season.
Grain exports for 2021/22 season-ending June 30 increased 8.5% to 48.5M tonnes. Shipments caused it before Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.
According to Ukraine, it exported 370,000 tonnes of kernels after unblocking its harbors.
The ministry data revealed that exports so far in 2022/23 contained 1.45M tonnes of corn, 562,000 tonnes of wheat, and 192,000 tonnes of barley.
Ukraine’s government said that it could gather at least 50M tonnes of grain this year. In contrast, it exported a record 86M tonnes in 2021. The drop in number is due to the loss of land to Russian forces and low grain yields.
