#Wheat Grains Broker

[mariacallous]

With its abundant natural gas supply, Russia has long wielded its resource riches to bludgeon Ukraine, Europe, and other dependent customers. By continuously threatening the future of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the landmark wartime agreement designed to open up Ukraine’s key farm output for export to world markets, Moscow has also found a way to strangle Kyiv’s agricultural sector—and weaponize resources that aren’t even its own.

Those tactics were on full display this week as negotiators raced to broker a full extension to the grain deal before its scheduled expiration on Monday, the latest scramble to save a key deal that helped ease pressures on vulnerable markets in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Since the deal took force in July 2022, Moscow has repeatedly attempted to upend the agreement to extract key concessions, intensifying concerns about the future of Ukraine’s hard-hit agricultural industry and the global food insecurity. 

“This continues to be very much an issue not just for Ukraine producers but also globally,” said Joseph Glauber, a senior research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute and former chief economist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “Ukraine has been a very important supplier, and if they have to continue with diminished production over another year, that means that the world will have to find wheat and corn from others to replace that.” 

It’s still not clear if Russia is ready to blink again and continue allowing exports or if this time it will try to scupper the deal. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday that Russia had agreed to extend the deal—before the Kremlin said it had decided no such thing.

With just days until the deal would expire, Russian President Vladimir Putin continued to press for concessions and extract leverage. For months, the main sticking point in negotiations has been Russia’s own food and fertilizer exports: While excluded from Western sanctions, Moscow says its exports have been hampered by sanctions targeting insurance and payment companies over its invasion of Ukraine. 

On Thursday, Putin warned that “not one” of its demands had been met. The grain deal is a “one-sided game,” he said in a television interview. “We can suspend our participation in this deal. And if everyone reiterates that all promises given to us will be fulfilled, let them fulfill these promises. And we will immediately join this deal. Again.” 

Western officials and agricultural analysts have pushed back, accusing him of deliberately stymieing the outflow of agricultural exports and driving up prices. Barbara Woodward, the U.K. envoy to the United Nations, said Russia was engaging in “cynical brinkmanship.” 

“In Istanbul, they slow-roll the inspections of the grain ships, bringing down the amount of grain that goes out. Then, by signaling that they are considering refusing to renew the deal, they are also affecting global grain prices,” she said. 

In this game of brinkmanship, diplomats have been scrambling to carve out other concessions to secure the extension of the deal. On Tuesday, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres wrote Putin a letter offering to connect a Russian agricultural bank subsidiary to the SWIFT international payments system, in exchange for the continuation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative; the European Commission also indicated that it was willing to “explore all solutions.”

“The objective is to remove hurdles affecting financial transactions through the Russian Agricultural Bank, a major concern expressed by the Russian Federation, and simultaneously allow for the continued flow of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea,” U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said.

Russia has yet to respond to the letter, although Erdogan, a strong proponent of the grain deal, expressed optimism on Friday that Guterres’s effort would help secure the grain deal’s extension. Both Putin and Erdogan are “of the same mind” in extending the agreement, the Turkish leader added.

Known as the breadbasket of Europe, Ukraine once supplied 10 percent of the world’s wheat exports, 20 percent of corn exports, and 40 percent of the global sunflower oil supply. After Russia’s invasion in February 2022 throttled harvests and disrupted those exports—thereby skyrocketing global prices—diplomats rushed to ink an agreement to avert an international food crisis. Since its inception roughly a year ago, the U.N.- and Turkey-brokered initiative has unlocked more than 30 million metric tons of goods, nearly one-quarter of which have gone to China. Almost half have reached developing markets that had been under immense strain.

Failing to renew the deal would jeopardize those exports—which would be bad for Russia’s ongoing efforts to woo the global south and especially its need to stay in good graces with Beijing. China has been one of the major beneficiaries of the grain deal, even naming the initiative in its 12-point peace plan, and has a vested interest in the agreement’s success. The timing of the latest extension fight also matters: The overwhelming bulk of Ukraine’s wheat crop is harvested in July and August, making this extension even more critical than previous standoffs.

But even without suspending its involvement in the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Moscow has done what it can to pressure Kyiv, including by shortening the lengths of extensions and exacerbating shipping challenges. As long as Russia works to squeeze Ukraine’s agricultural sector, Glauber said, already hard-hit producers will be the ones who are hurt the most. 

“The real problem with all these increased costs and reduced exports out of the Black Sea [is that] the direct cost of that is being felt by Ukraine producers,” he said. “And that’s sort of the bottom line.”

[ukrainenews]

Daily Wrap Up October 29-30, 2022

Under the cut:

The Russian government has written to the United Nations telling the international body that “starting today” it is suspending for an “indefinite term” the Black Sea grain deal that allowed vital exports of food from occupied parts of southern Ukraine, Reuters reports.

The deal brokered in July aimed to help avert famine by injecting more wheat, sunflower oil and fertilizer into world markets and to ease a dramatic rise in prices, Reuters reports. The United Nations World Food Programme said at the time the deal was signed that some 47 million people had moved into a stage of “acute hunger” due to fall-out from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which halted Ukrainian shipments.

Russian air defense systems repelled drone attacks on the Crimean city of Sevastopol on Saturday, shooting down all the drones involved, the Russian-backed mayor of the city said.

The Russian army accused Ukraine of a “massive” drone attack on its Black Sea Fleet in Crimea on Saturday, claiming the UK helped in the strike that damaged a ship, AFP reports.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday that Ukrainian forces had repelled a "fierce offensive" by Russian troops in the eastern Donetsk region. Zelenskiy said a military unit from Chop in western Ukraine had undertaken the action, but did not say where the clash had occurred.

President’s Office Head Andriy Yermak said on Oct. 29 that Russia had released 52 Ukrainian prisoners of war under the prisoner exchange. According to Yermak, two civilians were among the freed prisoners that include medics, officers, and other military personnel. Among the released are the defenders of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol and those who were captured at the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone in Kyiv Oblast.

“The Russian government has written to the United Nations telling the international body that “starting today” it is suspending for an “indefinite term” the Black Sea grain deal that allowed vital exports of food from occupied parts of southern Ukraine, Reuters reports.

The news agency reports that it has seen the contents of the letter and that, following what Russia has said alleging attacks on its naval fleet in the Black Sea involving British as well as Ukrainian forces – claims that the Ukrainians deny – that Moscow also cannot “guarantee the safety of civilian ships” travelling under the terms of the internationally negotiated grain deal.

Moreover, Russia has now requested a UN Security Council meeting on Monday to discuss its claims that attacks on its Black Sea fleet provoked it to suspend the grain deal.

The July deal was designed to allow essential Ukrainian grain exports, that were backing up in the occupied area even as developing countries faced the threat of starvation without such supplies, to leave Russian-controlled Ukrainian territory.

But Russia has slow-marched the exports amid claims that they were going to developed countries that oppose Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, not to desperately hungry communities in the developing world.”

-via The Guardian

“Here are more details and background on Russia stating it is pulling out of the deal aimed at unlocking Ukrainian grain and fertiliser exports from Black Sea ports and easing global food shortages.

The deal brokered in July aimed to help avert famine by injecting more wheat, sunflower oil and fertilizer into world markets and to ease a dramatic rise in prices, Reuters reports.

The United Nations World Food Programme said at the time the deal was signed that some 47 million people had moved into a stage of “acute hunger” due to fall-out from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which halted Ukrainian shipments.

The deal signed on July 22 was valid for 120 days and the United Nations expected it to be renewed unless the war had ended by then. It ensured safe passage in and out of Odesa and two other Ukrainian ports in what the official called a “de facto ceasefire” for the ships and facilities covered.

Since the deal was signed, more than 9 million tonnes of grains and other food products have been exported, U.N. aid chief Martin Griffith said this week. He added the deal had been successful in bringing food prices down and boosting export quantities.

Russia’s defence ministry said Ukraine attacked the Black Sea Fleet near Sevastopol on the annexed Crimean peninsular with 16 drones in the early hours of Saturday, and that British navy “specialists” had helped coordinate the “terrorist” attack.

Russia said it had repelled the attack, with just minor damage to a minesweeper, but that the ships targeted were involved in ensuring the grain corridor.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, accused Russia of inventing “fictitious terrorist attacks on its own facilities” while Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Moscow was using a “false pretext” to sink the deal.”

-via The Guardian

~

“Russian air defense systems repelled drone attacks on the Crimean city of Sevastopol on Saturday, shooting down all the drones involved, the Russian-backed mayor of the city said.

“Today, starting at 4.30 am, for several hours, various air defense systems in Sevastopol repelled drone attacks. All unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were shot down,” Sevastopol Mayor Mikhail Razvozhayev said.

CNN cannot independently confirm or verify Razvozhayev’s claim. There has also been no acknowledgment of the incident from Ukraine’s side.

In a post to social media early Saturday, Razvozhayev said “no facilities in the city were hit.”

“The situation is calm and under control. All operational teams are on standby,” he said.

He urged the city’s residents to not make public what they saw and not post any videos showing Russian defense systems repelling the attacks, claiming such information could be used by Ukraine to understand the city’s defenses.

On Saturday, state-run news agency TASS reported ferries and boats were temporarily blocked from accessing the bay.”

-via CNN

“The Russian army accused Ukraine of a “massive” drone attack on its Black Sea Fleet in Crimea on Saturday, claiming the UK helped in the strike that damaged a ship, AFP reports.

It has also claimed that the targeted ships were involved in a UN-brokered deal to allow the export of Ukrainian grain.

Sevastopol in Moscow-annexed Crimea, which has been targeted several times in recent months, serves as the headquarters for the fleet and a logistical hub for operations in Ukraine.

The Russian army claimed to have “destroyed” nine aerial drones and seven maritime ones, in an attack early Saturday in the port.

Moscow’s forces alleged British “specialists”, whom they said were based in the southern Ukrainian city of Ochakiv, had helped prepare and train Kyiv to carry out the strike.

The claims could not be independently verified.

Earlier today, Britain denied Russian claims that British navy personnel blew up the Nord Stream gas pipelines last month.”

-via The Guardian

~

“Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday that Ukrainian forces had repelled a "fierce offensive" by Russian troops in the eastern Donetsk region.

Zelenskiy said a military unit from Chop in western Ukraine had undertaken the action, but did not say where the clash had occurred.

"Today they stopped the fierce offensive actions of the enemy," Zelenskiy said in his nightly address. "The Russian attack was repelled."

The president also said Ukraine's "exchange fund" had been replenished, meaning Russian servicemen had been taken prisoner. The fiercest fighting in Donetsk region has been around the towns of Bakhmut and Avdiivka.”-via Reuters

~

“President’s Office Head Andriy Yermak said on Oct. 29 that Russia had released 52 Ukrainian prisoners of war under the prisoner exchange.

According to Yermak, two civilians were among the freed prisoners that include medics, officers, and other military personnel. Among the released are the defenders of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol and those who were captured at the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone in Kyiv Oblast.

"We do not stop and continue to fulfill the president's task to 'bring back all Ukrainians home,'" Yermak wrote on Telegram.

Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Maliar said on Oct. 27 that Ukraine had conducted 28 prisoner swaps with Russia since Feb. 24, returning home 978 Ukrainians, including 99 civilians.

The largest exchange took place on Sept. 21, when 215 prisoners of war, including Azovstal defenders, were returned from Russian captivity.”-via Kyiv Independent 

[follow-up-news]

Russian drones pounded grain storage facilities and ports along the Danube River that Ukraine has increasingly relied on as an alternative transport route to Europe, after Moscow broke off a key wartime shipping agreement using the Black Sea. At the same time, a loaded container ship stranded at the Black Sea port of Odesa since Russia’s full-scale invasion more than 17 months ago set sail along a temporary corridor established by Ukraine for merchant shipping. Ukraine’s economy, crunched by the war, is heavily dependent on farming. Its agricultural exports, like those of Russia, are also crucial for world supplies of wheat, barley, sunflower oil and other food that developing nations rely on. A month ago, the Kremlin tore up an agreement brokered last summer by the U.N. and Turkey to ensure safe Ukraine grain exports through the Black Sea. Since then, Kyiv has sought to reroute transport through the Danube and road and rail links into Europe. But transport costs that way are much higher, some European countries have balked at the consequences for local grain prices, and the Danube ports can’t handle the same volume as seaports.

[sataniccapitalist]

[palmoilnews]

GRAINS-Wheat, corn and soy slip after rally but all head for weekly gains CANBERRA, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Chicago wheat, corn and soybean futures eased on Friday as traders decided that a fortnight-long rally which lifted prices from near four-year lows has left the contracts over-valued amid plentiful supply. All three crops were nevertheless on track for weekly gains. FUNDAMENTALS The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Wv1 was down 0.4% at $5.72-1/2 a bushel by 0035 GMT but up 4.2% for the week, its second straight weekly increase. CBOT corn Cv1 slipped 0.1% to $4.10-1/4 a bushel but was up 2.2% from last Friday's close, also its second weekly gain in a row, while soybeans Sv1 fell 0.2% to $10.21-1/2 a bushel but were up 2.1% over the week for a third consecutive weekly rise. The rallies were driven by speculator unwinding some of their hefty short positions. Nudging the markets towards higher prices were a weak dollar USD= that stimulated U.S. export demand and poor wheat production in Western Europe. That tide turned on Thursday, however, with commodity funds deciding that the contracts had become over-valued and turning net sellers of CBOT corn, wheat and soybeans, according to traders. Cheap wheat continues to flow from the Black Sea region, pressuring prices, and the U.S. will shortly begin harvesting what are - despite a dry end to the growing season - predicted to be huge corn and soy crops, creating a flood of new supply. Many traders are waiting for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to release its September crop estimates next week before making big moves. Brokers StoneX this week lowered their U.S. corn production estimate to 15.127 billion bushels from 15.207 billion and raised its estimate for U.S. soybean output to 4.575 billion bushels from 4.483 billion. Ukrainian farmers could increase the winter wheat sowing area for the 2025 harvest to more than 5 million hectares from 4.7 million hectares in 2024, an industry source said. MARKETS NEWS MSCI's global equities index edged down on Thursday as investors digested mixed economic data and anxiously waited for Friday's crucial U.S. jobs report, while and oil prices held near 14-month lows as demand worries offset draws on inventories.

[irefindia]

Food India Expo 2023 Elevates Rice Export Dialogue with IREF's Dr. Prem Garg as Chief Guest

The Food India Expo 2023 is a major event in India's food industry, serving as the country's largest international platform for bringing together food machinery manufacturers, traders, dealers, and exporters from both India and other countries. This event is set to take place from December 28-30, 2023, at Biswa Bangla Mela Prangan, near ITC Sonar in Kolkata, India.

This expo focuses on a wide array of sectors within the food industry, including rice, pulses, wheat, flour, spices, sugar, fortified products, tea, coffee, and various types of food processing machinery. Notably, the expo also showcases products and technologies like Paddy/Grain Dryers, Parboiling Plants, Color Sorters, Air Compressors, Grain Storage and Material Handling, Packaging Solutions, Dairy Equipment, Poultry/Cattle Feed Technology, Waste Water Treatment, Grain Chillers, and more.

The event is not just an exhibition but also a platform for training the younger generation and promoting well-established businesses. It facilitates networking and brand promotion for these businesses both in India and internationally. Additionally, the expo includes seminars and conferences conducted by professionals, offering insights into the latest trends and technologies in food processing.

The Food India Expo 2023 aims to cater to a diverse range of visitors, including CEOs, managing directors, business heads, owners, employees, managers, brokers, mediators, distributors, researchers, processing experts, scientists, and technologists, among others. It's an excellent opportunity for professionals in these areas to explore new technologies, network with industry experts, and gain insights into the latest market trends.

In terms of exhibitors, the expo welcomes a wide range of participants from various sectors such as rice mills, flour mills, pulse mills, and those involved in processing, distribution, and technology related to the food industry. The event also garners interest from government officials and representatives from industry associations.

The Food India Expo is more than just a trade show; it's a comprehensive platform for learning, networking, and exploring the latest innovations in the food processing industry.

For more detailed information about the Food India Expo 2023, you can visit their official websites at Food India Expo and Food India.

Chief Guest Dr. Prem Garg

Dr. Prem Garg is a notable figure in the Indian rice export industry and is associated with the Indian Rice Exporters Federation (IREF). He is recognized for his innovative approaches and leadership in the rice export sector, contributing significantly to positioning India as a global leader in rice exports. The IREF operates with the motto "One Nation, One Trade, One Policy," striving to foster unity and coherence in India’s rice export sector. The federation plays a key role in policy advocacy, trade negotiations, and ensuring the interests of a wide range of stakeholders in the rice export industry are represented.

However, there's no specific information available linking Dr. Prem Garg directly to the Food India Expo 2023 as a chief guest or in a similar capacity. For the most current information about the expo, including details about guests and speakers, it's recommended to regularly check the official websites of the Food India Expo here and the Indian Rice Exporters Federation here.

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Website :- https://iref.net/

Address:-  Office at 73 LGF World Trade Centre, Hotel Lalit, Connaught Place, New Delhi 110001

Phone no- +918383810826

[cyberbenb]

Reuters: Russia faces challenges in exporting its grain

Moscow is facing challenges in exporting its grain products, namely the lack of ships, rising insurance costs, and the unwillingness of Western companies to deal with Russia, Reuters reported on Aug. 8.

Russia’s exports are hindered by the so-called hidden sanctions that “may lead to an increase in freight and insurance costs,” Reuters said with reference to Eduard Zernin, the head of Russia’s Union of Grain Exporters.

Although Russian agricultural exports are not directly sanctioned by the West, the restrictions imposed on the banking sector and Russian individuals contribute to the rising costs, Reuters noted.

Merchant vessels are also more hesitant to sail through the Black Sea following Russia’s unilateral termination of the grain deal, the news agency reported. Russia followed up its withdrawal from the grain deal by strikes against Ukraine’s ports and agricultural infrastructure.

Both Moscow and Kyiv announced that ships sailing to the ports controlled by their opponent will be treated as military targets. The U.K. and the U.S. warned that Russia may also attempt to target civilian cargo ships to further hamper Ukraine’s export capacities.

According to Reuters, the risks associated with sailing through the Black Sea are driving up the costs, specifically in terms of insurance, and pushing Russia toward older and smaller vessels run by less established shipping operators.

According to Reuters' sources, Russia’s Agriculture Ministry predicts that grain exports will fall about 8% during the 2023-2024 season.

The ministry also announced a plan in December to build 61 new cargo vessels, citing sanctions and the refusal of many international carriers to work with Russia, Reuters said.

Russia unilaterally terminated the Black Sea Grain Initiative on July 17. The deal allowed Ukraine to export its grain even amid the ongoing full-scale invasion.

Ukraine’s grain exports are vital to the world’s food supply. Before the full-scale invasion, Ukraine was the fifth-largest wheat exporter globally. The grain deal had allowed for nearly 33 million metric tons of food to be exported through Ukrainian ports while it was in force, according to the U.N.

At the Africa-Russia summit in late July, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia can supplant Ukrainian exports to Africa with its own products, both as aid and on a commercial basis.

Putin presented this plan also to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a phone call, voicing hope for Turkey’s cooperation.

Risk of ‘big disruptions’ high in grain markets, says Black Sea expert

Since Russia refused to renew the Black Sea Grain Initiative ��� a U.N.-brokered deal to keep Ukraine’s grain flowing from its Black Sea ports amid Russia’s full-scale invasion – it has unleashed a campaign of attacks on Ukraine’s port and grain infrastructure. In late July, Russia carried

The Kyiv IndependentLiliane Bivings

[cavenewstimes]

What Russia’s exit from grain deal means for wheat prices

Russia’s announcement that it would renew its naval blockade on Ukrainian ports has revived concerns about wheat prices and the impact of Russia’s invasion on global hunger. Russia had previously allowed grains and other agricultural products to pass through the Black Sea thanks to an agreement brokered by the United Nations several months after the invasion. Since then, almost 33 million tons of…

[tridge-intelligence]

The recent exit of #Russia from the #grain #deal has resulted in surges in key agricultural commodities like #wheat and #corn, prompting worries about escalating #prices and implications for worldwide #foodsecurity

[gonewsbuddy]



Wheat prices rise exponentially after Russia pulls out of Black Sea grain deal

Wheat prices rise exponentially after Russia pulls out of Black Sea grain deal

Yes, wheat prices did rise exponentially after Russia pulled out of the Black Sea grain deal. The deal was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in July 2022 to allow the export of grain from Ukraine. Russia's withdrawal from the deal means that there is now a significant risk that Ukrainian grain will not be able to reach global markets, which could lead to a global food crisis.

Wheat prices rose by 4% on the Chicago Board of Trade immediately after Russia's announcement. This was the largest one-day increase in wheat prices since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. Wheat prices are expected to continue to rise in the coming weeks and months, as the global food crisis deepens.

The Black Sea grain deal was a major step forward in efforts to alleviate the global food crisis. The deal allowed Ukraine to export 20 million tons of grain per month, which is a significant amount of food. However, Russia's withdrawal from the deal has thrown a wrench in these efforts.

The war in Ukraine is having a devastating impact on global food security. Ukraine is a major exporter of wheat, corn, and sunflower oil. The war has disrupted these exports, and has led to a sharp rise in food prices.

The United Nations has warned that the war in Ukraine could push up to 100 million people into hunger. The World Food Programme has said that it needs $22.2 billion to provide food assistance to people affected by the war.

The global food crisis is a major challenge that needs to be addressed. The United Nations and other international organizations are working to find ways to get food to people who need it. However, it is a difficult task, and it is likely that the food crisis will continue for some time.

[mariacallous]

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — An unprecedented wartime deal that allowed grain to flow from Ukraine to countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia where hunger is a growing threat and high food prices are pushing more people into poverty was extended just before its expiration date, officials said Saturday.

The United Nations and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the extension, but neither confirmed how long it would last. The U.N., Turkey and Ukraine had pushed for 120 days, while Russia said it was willing to agree to 60 days.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov tweeted Saturday that the deal would remain in effect for the longer, four-month period. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Russian news agency Tass that Moscow “agreed to extend the deal for 60 days.”

This is the second renewal of separate agreements that Ukraine and Russia signed with the United Nations and Turkey to allow food to leave the Black Sea region after Russia invaded its neighbor more than a year ago.

The warring nations are both major global suppliers of wheat, barley, sunflower oil and other affordable food products that developing nations depend on.

Russia has complained that shipments of its fertilizers — which its deal with Turkey and the U.N. was supposed to facilitate — are not getting to global markets, which has been an issue for Moscow since the agreement first took effect in August. It nonetheless was renewed in November for another four months.

Stéphane Dujarric, a spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said in a statement that 25 million metric tonnes (about 28 millions tons) of grain and foodstuffs had moved to 45 countries under the initiative, helping to bring down global food prices and stabilizing markets.

“We remain strongly committed to both agreements and we urge all sides to redouble their efforts to implement them fully,” Dujarric said.

The war in Ukraine sent food prices surging to record highs last year and helped contribute to a global food crisis also tied to lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and climate factors like drought.

The disruption in shipments of grain needed for staples of diets in places like Egypt, Lebanon and Nigeria exacerbated economic challenges and helped push millions more people into poverty or food insecurity. People in developing countries spend more of their money on basics like food.

The crisis left an estimated 345 million people facing food insecurity, according to the U.N.’s World Food Program.

Food prices have fallen for 11 straight months, but food was already expensive before the war because of droughts from the Americas to the Middle East — most devastating in the Horn of Africa, with thousands dying in Somalia. Poorer nations that depend on imported food priced in dollars are spending more as their currencies weaken.

The agreements also faced setbacks since it was brokered by the U.N. and Turkey: Russia pulled out briefly in November before rejoining and extending the deal. In the past few months, inspections meant to ensure ships only carry grain and not weapons have slowed down.

That has helped lead to backlogs in vessels waiting in the waters of Turkey and a recent drop in the amount of grain getting out of Ukraine.

Ukrainian and some U.S. officials have blamed Russia for the slowdowns, which the country denies.

While fertilizers have been stuck, Russia has exported huge amounts of wheat after a record crop. Figures from financial data provider Refinitiv showed that Russian wheat exports more than doubled to 3.8 million tons in January from the same month a year ago, before the invasion.

Russian wheat shipments were at or near record highs in November, December and January, increasing 24% over the same three months a year earlier, according to Refinitiv. It estimated Russia would export 44 million tons of wheat in 2022-2023.

[oceansoulmatesblog]

Kremlin says Black Sea grain deal has 'de facto ended'

AFP, Monday 17 Jul 2023 The Kremlin said Monday that the Ukraine grain deal had “de facto ended” hours before it was due to expire, and that Moscow would return to the landmark agreement if its conditions were met. FILE – A harvester collects wheat in the village of Zghurivka, Ukraine, on Aug.  9, 2022.AP P The crucial deal, brokered by the UN and Turkey, is officially due to run out at the…

[thxnews]

A Plea For Peace

More than 500 days have now passed since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. At least nine thousand innocent civilians lie dead – including 500 children. Thousands more Ukrainians have been kidnapped, imprisoned and tortured. Homes, businesses, schools and hospitals have been reduced to rubble. Russia’s incessant attacks have knocked out 60% of Ukraine’s power supply. This war has claimed countless victims. I’m going to focus on those who have been forcibly deported in this war - and those who are going hungry as a result of it. In Kyiv last month I met a teenage boy – I’ll call him Denys. When the Russians captured his home town, they told Denys and his classmates that they were going on a holiday. They were in fact transported to a Russian camp where they were neglected, indoctrinated and abused. Denys’ distraught mother was desperately searching for him. But the Russians pretending to look after Denys and countless others told him his parents had abandoned him. This boy’s ordeal lasted for 7 months before his mother – thanks to the charity Save Ukraine - found him and brought him home. But 19,000 Ukrainian children remain in Russian camps – and their parents are desperately searching for them. A further 2½ million Ukrainian men and women have been deported to Russia. These are barbaric crimes. Russia is trying to erase Ukrainian identity and cultural history. And they are using children as an instrument of war. But the world is watching and Russia will be held accountable. We welcome the International Criminal Court’s investigation. And we will leave no stone unturned until the responsible are brought to justice. Ukrainians are Russia’s principal victims. But this war is also harming the poor and the vulnerable across the world – particularly in Africa, in Asia and in Latin America. Energy prices rocketed by 20% worldwide last year – almost doubling global inflation from 4.7% to 8.7%. World food supplies have fallen sharply. Ukrainian food exports - maize, barley or wheat - have plummeted by more than 40%. With catastrophic consequences for Sub-Africa which relies on these supplies. Food prices are rocketing – by a staggering 332% in Lebanon last summer. Some of these losses were offset by the Black Sea Grain Initiative – brokered by the UN Secretary-General and Turkey. But today Russia has announced it is refusing to extend it and is taking a colossal 23 million tonnes of Ukrainian food off of world markets over the forthcoming year. As the UN Secretary General said this morning: “Today’s decision by the Russian Federation will strike a blow to people in need everywhere”. We call on Russia to return to the table and agree to extend the Black Sea Grain Initiative indefinitely – and to implement it fully without delay. Let us be clear – Russia’s actions are taking food out of the mouths of the poorest people across Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. We cannot allow this war to go on for another 500 days. The UN General Assembly has called – repeatedly – for peace. A peace that is based on the principles of the UN Charter and our shared belief that might does not equal right. President Zelensky’s 10-point peace plan shows the way forward. Ukraine wants peace. We want peace. The whole world wants peace. Peace will bring home Ukraine’s lost children – and feed the hungry of the world. Peace will keep the promises we all made in the UN Charter. Peace will pave the way to a reformed multilateral system. Peace will help deliver the Sustainable Development Goals. A just and lasting peace is what we all want. The Russian Federation can choose peace – today. By withdrawing all Russian forces from Ukraine. Mr Putin – bring your troops home. End this war now.   Sources: THX News, Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office & The Rt Hon James Cleverly MP.  Read the full article

[nbmsports]

Black Sea Grain Deal in Balance as Deadline Looms Again

Talks over the renewal of a deal that allows Ukraine to export its grain across the Black Sea in wartime were set to go down to the wire again, as the United Nations waited on Sunday for a response from Russia on a proposal that could revive the agreement and help keep global grain prices stable.The Black Sea Grain Initiative, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, is one of the very few areas of wartime cooperation between Ukraine and Russia. It was first agreed in summer last year, allowing Ukraine to restart the export of millions of tons of grain from its ports on the Black Sea despite Russia’s full-scale invasion, which began in February. But Russia has repeatedly threatened to pull out of the agreement, which has only been renewed for short periods. The latest deadline for expiry is midnight Monday.In a bid to answer one of Russia’s key demands before this latest deadline, the United Nations secretary general, António Guterres, sent a letter to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia last week with proposals that would “remove hurdles affecting financial transactions” through the country’s agricultural bank, “and simultaneously allow for the continued flow of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea,” according to a U.N. statement.Two days later, Mr. Putin called the deal a “one-sided game,” again threatening to pull out of it because of what he considered unmet conditions, Tass, Russia’s state news agency reported. “We may suspend our participation in this agreement. And if everyone reiterates that all promises given to us will be fulfilled — let them fulfill these promises. And we will immediately join this agreement. Again,” he said, according to Tass.The invasion prompted the United States and European countries to tighten sanctions on Russia, effectively turning it into a pariah state. Some analysts have argued that Moscow is trying to use the grain deal as leverage to soften these sanctions. Russia has complained that while the agreement has allowed Ukraine’s food exports to reach markets, the Western sanctions have restricted the sale of Russia’s agricultural products, and has demanded that steps to taken to facilitate its own exports of grain and fertilizers. The Kremlin’s other demands included restoring an ammonia pipeline that crosses Ukraine to facilitate exports, but Ukraine has refused to grant consent.The deal was first brokered to alleviate a global food crisis exacerbated when Russia effectively blockaded Ukrainian ports at the start of its invasion. Ukraine is a major exporter of grain and other food crops, and global wheat prices soared.Since the Black Sea Grain Initiative began, Ukraine has used it to export 32.8 million tonnes of grain and other foodstuffs, according to U.N. data, and the agreement has prevented hunger crises in some countries in the Middle East and Africa from worsening. But the volume of grain exported from the Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea has been slowing in recent weeks, according to U.N. data. The same thing happened weeks before the deal’s previous expiry date, in May.Under the terms of the deal, Ukraine’s ships have been given safe passage to the port in Istanbul, where inspectors checked them. Empty ships have also been checked in Istanbul en route to Ukraine’s ports to verify that they are not carrying weapons or other goods banned under the agreement. Source link Read the full article