Ukraine has sent about 720,000 tons of food for export by sea as part of the "grain" agreement, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food reported.
"In the 22 days since the start of the "grain corridor", 33 ships left Ukrainian seaports with a total of 719,549 tons of agricultural products on board," Minagro reported.
Another 18 vessels are being loaded and waiting for departure, the department added.
The First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, Taras Vysotsky, said that if in July Ukraine exported a total of 3 million tons of agricultural products, then in 15 days of August - already 2 million tons. "That is, we have to export at least 4 million tons in August, and this is plus 250-300 million dollars in foreign exchange revenue in just one month," the deputy minister said on the air of the telethon.
In addition, thanks to the work of the "grain corridor", as explained by the first deputy minister, export prices have leveled off, which gives confidence to Ukrainian farmers that they will not go bankrupt and will be able to cover production costs.
On July 22, Ukraine, the United Nations, Turkey and Russia signed an agreement (Ukraine and the Russian Federation separately) aimed at ensuring the safe passage of ships entering and leaving the three Ukrainian Black Sea ports ("Odesa", "Chornomorsk", "Pivdenyi"), which were blocked by the Russian Federation after the invasion of Moscow on February 24.
Ukraine and Russia are major exporters of grain, and the port blockade has delayed tens of millions of tons of grain in the country. The first ship with grain under the agreement left the port of Odessa on August 1. The first vessel to be loaded entered the Odesa port on August 6 for the first time since February 24. So, the corridor worked in both directions.