Ukraine grain exports in the 2022/23 season, which runs through to June, are down 29.2% to 28.2 million tonnes so far, due to a smaller harvest and logistical difficulties caused by the Russian invasion, agriculture ministry data showed on Wednesday.

The volume included about 10.1 million tonnes of wheat, 16.2 million tonnes of corn and about 1.9 million tonnes of barley. Exports at the same stage of the prior season were 39.9 million tonnes.

The ministry said grain exports so far in February had reached 1.26 million tonnes as of Feb. 8, down from 1.43 million tonnes in the same period last year.

After an almost six-month blockade caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, three Ukrainian Black Sea ports were unblocked at the end of July under a deal between Moscow and Kyiv brokered by the United Nations and Turkey.

A major global grain grower and exporter, Ukraine's grain output is likely to have dropped to about 51 million tonnes in clean weight in calendar 2022 from a record 86 million tonnes in 2021. Officials have blamed the fall on hostilities in the country's eastern, northern and southern regions. (Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Sharon Singleton)