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A deal to resume exports of Ukrainian grain through
Ukraine's deep-sea ports could be a game changer, the chairman of Ukraine's top
food producer MHP said on Thursday (July 14, 2022), but he warned that getting
products to export terminals still presented major challenges.
The war in Ukraine has driven up global prices of grain,
cooking oil, fuel and fertilizer, a blockade of Russian seaports has stranded
dozens of ships, and nearly 20 million tons of grain are stuck in silos in
Odessa.
Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations will sign an
agreement next week aimed at resuming Ukraine's Black Sea grain exports after
talks in Istanbul.
While the potential deal was positive, implementation would
be challenging, requiring de-mining of ports in Mykolaiv and Odessa and damaging
infrastructure, MHP Chairman John Rich said in an interview.
“We still have to ship the grain to the ports, and
infrastructure is difficult, we still have to do so under fire - Mykolaiv and
Odessa have been hit by missiles in the past 72 hours,” Rich said.
“I think we (can expect) a fair bit of time and water under
the bridge before we can have confidence this is going to solve the problem in
the short-term. Medium-term maybe it can relieve things, but I think we have
(to play a) waiting game.”
Ukraine and Russia are major global wheat suppliers, and
Russia is also a large fertilizer exporter. Ukraine is a significant producer
of corn and sunflower oil.
Speaking about Ukrainian grain, Rich said he expected the
country to produce more than originally anticipated. The winter harvest is
expected to bring in 30 million tonnes, two-thirds wheat and the rest rapeseed
and barley.
Summer grains production could be around 38 million tonnes.
“The plus is that we are growing the grains, but I can’t get
it out of the country in our own operations, let alone Ukraine generally,” said
Rich.
Grain exports must move soon and free up brimming storage
facilities to enable planning for the next season’s crop, Rich said.
“If Odessa does not open, do we plant in September? That
decision has to be made.” (Reporting by Karin Strohecker, Sujata Rao and Nigel
Hunt in London; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel)
|Source: Online/SZK
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