Ukrainian grain exports will not reach 3 million tonnes in November, as Russia tries to limit ship inspections at ports, Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Alexander Kubrakov said late Sunday night.
In October about 4.2 million tons of grain were exported from Ukrainian ports, Kubrakov said on his Facebook page.
"Customs used to carry out 40 checks a day, while now, because of the Russian stance, five times fewer checks are carried out," he said."
The agreement to address global food shortages to help Ukraine export its agricultural products and protect the transport corridor from three Black Sea ports was initially reached in July and extended for four months in mid-November.
Ukraine and Russia have an important position in global grain exports, and agreed that teams of inspectors would check ships to ensure that neither banned people nor banned goods are imported or exported from Ukrainian ports.
However, Ukrainian exports are progressing at a slower pace with Kiev blaming Russia's refusal to speed up ship inspections.
According to Kubrakov, 77 ships are waiting in line to be inspected in Turkey, while the three Black Sea ports are using only 50 percent of their export capacity.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in September that Russia and the developing world had been "deceived" by the UN-brokered Ukrainian grain deal, distributing the grain to countries in the international organization.
On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hosted a conference in Kiev with Ukrainian allies to activate a plan to export 144.47 million euros worth of grain economically to countries most vulnerable to famine and drought.
Source: KYPE
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