Ukraine exported 3 million tonnes of agricultural products in July, bypassing its seaports, most which have been blocked by Russia, the Ukrainian Club of Agrarian Business Associations (UCAB) said on Monday.

In a statement on Facebook, the association said agricultural exports last month grew 12% from June, while grain exports rose 21% to 1.7 million tonnes.

The UCAB said that while exports from the Black Sea ports of Chornomorsk, Odesa and Pivdennyi have been made possible under a safe passage agreement between Ukraine and Russia, brokered by Turkey and the United Nations, the rest of its ports remain under a Russian blockade.

"Only in the case of the full functioning of these three sea ports and full loading of alternative routes can we hope for the volume of exports that was before the beginning of the... Russian invasion," it said

Before the invasion on Feb. 24, Ukraine was exporting up to 6 million tonnes of grain every month, the UCAB said.

On Monday, under the provisions of the safe passage agreement, the first ship carrying Ukrainian grain for foreign markets left the port of Odesa.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to a worldwide food and energy crisis, and the United Nations has warned of the risk of multiple famines this year.

Russia and Ukraine between them accounted for nearly a third of global wheat exports before the invasion and subsequent sanctions. (Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic; Editing by David Goodman and Jan Harvey)


Reuters