Grain from Ukraine successfully shipped; could mean a fall in food prices

By Dana Malcolm

Staff Writer

August 5, 2022 – After a three hour search of the ship and crew the first ship carrying Ukrainian grain under the Black Sea Grain Initiative has passed inspection and is on its way to Lebanon.

As per the 120 day agreement between Turkey, the United Nations, Ukraine and Russia. The grain ships will all be inspected by a group of officials in Turkey before being allowed to pass.

Media reports confirm that Ukraine exports roughly half of the sunflower oil used on the world market and is one of the world’s main suppliers of grain. A near-total halt to its exports helped push up global food prices and make imports prohibitively expensive in some of the poorest countries in the world.

The Razoni took 26,000 tonnes of maize through a specially designated corridor in the mine-infested waters of the Black Sea before reaching the northern edge of the Bosphorus Strait on Tuesday.

The team was composed of individuals from Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN.  The JCC says along with the food fertilizer will be shipped as well and everything will be under close monitoring

Photos of the investigation show the team questioning the crew checking records and inspecting the grain.

The ship next moves to the Tripoli port in Lebanon where it will unload its cargo.

Olivér Várhelyi, European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement in the EU said that as the cargo ship Razoni was on its way several others were cueing up to take the journey as well.