MOSCOW, December 5. /TASS/. Exports of Ukrainian grain from the beginning of the marketing year (July 2023 - June 2024) decreased by 26.7% year-on-year as of December 4, according to the website of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine.

"The actual volumes of grain exports by Ukraine since the beginning of the 2023/2024 marketing year as of December 4 amount to 13,402,000 tons, which is 26.7%, or 4,874,000 tons, less than for the same period of the last marketing year," the statement says.

The ministry clarified that 5,925,000 tons of wheat, 876,000 tons of barley, 900 tons of rye and 6,467,000 tons of corn have already been exported, and the export of wheat flour and flour from other crops decreased by 11%, or 6,500 tons, up to 50,400 tons.

In the last marketing year (July 2022 - June 2023), Ukraine exported 49 million tons of grain, exceeding the export of the previous year by 1.3%.

Grain deal

The implementation of the grain deal, an agreement on a corridor for ships with Ukrainian grain concluded in July 2022, was terminated on July 17. Russia notified Turkey, Ukraine and the UN of its objection to its extension from July 18. Russian President Vladimir Putin previously noted that the terms of the deal with regard to Russia were not met, despite the efforts of the UN, because Western countries were not going to keep their promises. The Russian leader repeatedly pointed out that the West exported most of the Ukrainian grain to their states, while the deal’s main aim, which was to supply grain to needy countries, including African ones, was never implemented. Nevertheless, Moscow stated that it was ready to immediately return to the grain deal, but it must be implemented in the part that concerns Russia.

After the termination of the grain deal in August, Ukraine announced the creation of "temporary corridors" in the Black Sea for the export of grain. In late November, Kiev announced that almost 5.5 million tons of cargo had already been transported through them. However, the UN noted that the Ukrainian "temporary corridors" cannot replace the grain deal, the volume of exports under which could reach 4 million tons of food in just one month. Ukraine also exports non-food products through "temporary corridors."

Export problems

Exports of agricultural products also previously complicated Ukraine’s relations with neighboring EU member countries. In the spring, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia banned the import of grain from Ukraine into their territory to avoid a collapse in prices on the domestic market. This was agreed with the European Commission (EC) only as a temporary measure, and on September 15 the EC decided not to extend the embargo. However, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland at the national level extended the ban on the import of agricultural products from Ukraine.

To overcome the situation, the Ukrainian government developed a mechanism to coordinate the export of four groups of agricultural exports (corn, rapeseed, sunflower and wheat) to five countries with which contradictions had arisen. In particular, Kiev proposed introducing a procedure involving the issuance by the country's Ministry of Economy of licenses for the export of each batch of grains or oilseeds after its export is agreed with the European Commission and importing countries. On September 26, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmygal said that he had signed a Cabinet resolution on the implementation of this mechanism and that four of the five countries to which Ukraine proposed its plan agreed to discuss it. He did not specify the countries, but added that "relevant documents are already being prepared" with Romania and Bulgaria.