Ukraine Exports 3.6 Million Tons of Agricultural Products in September
Ukraine's Prime Minister, Denys Shmyhal, has reported that Ukraine has harvested over 70 million tons of crops. In September, Ukraine exported 3.6 million tons of its agricultural products, with nearly 2.3 million tons passing through the Danube ports. During the operation of the temporary maritime corridor, approximately 700,000 tons of grain were exported.
According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, this year's total harvest is estimated to reach around 79 million tons of grains and oilseeds, nearly 10% more than last year.
"The government has been and will continue to support Ukrainian farmers. Agrarians are the main recipients of state programs for preferential loans because they are the foundation of our economy and exports," emphasized Denys Shmyhal.
It is worth noting that on July 22, 2022, an agreement was signed between the UN, Turkey, Ukraine, and a mirrored agreement with Russia regarding maritime corridors for the export of Ukrainian grain.
On July 17, 2023, the agreement's term expired, and Russia unilaterally withdrew from it. However, the export of Ukrainian grain continued by sea through the temporary 'humanitarian corridor.'
On August 10, Ukraine announced new temporary maritime routes for commercial vessels coming to and from the Black Sea ports of Ukraine. These routes were primarily used to allow civilian ships, which had been blocked in Ukrainian ports such as Chornomorsk, Odesa, and Pivdennyi since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, to depart.
On September 21, the first ship carrying three thousand tons of Ukrainian grain passed through the new maritime corridor to the Turkish Bosphorus.
In order to improve access to Ukrainian grain and enhance global food security, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky called on the United Nations during his address at the 78th session of the UN General Assembly to establish grain hubs in Africa and other regions with food shortages.
Romania, at the UN, also called on Russia to stop blocking the "grain initiative," which allows Ukrainian grain to reach African and Asian countries.