The largest convoy to date under a U.N.-brokered grain export agreement is anticipated to arrive in Ukraine's Chornomorsk Black Sea port on five ships on Wednesday for loading with more than 70,000 tonnes of agricultural products.
Wheat, corn, and sunflower oil will be among the additional cargoes, according to a statement from the Ukrainian sea ports administration.
Ukraine was able to restart exports from its Black Sea ports in early August as a result of the framework agreement mediated by Turkey and the UN, which had been put on hold for five months due to Russia's invasion on February 24.
The sea ports authority said that 24 ships carrying food had left Ukrainian ports so far during the 17 days of the grain corridor operation under the Initiative for the Safe Transportation of Grain and Foodstuffs.
“Today we expect 5 vessels to enter at the port of Chornomorsk – this is the largest figure during the operation of the ‘grain corridor’,” it said.
Before the Russian invasion shut Ukrainian ports, Ukraine used to export 5 to 6 million tonnes of agricultural products each month via sea. View More
To demilitarise its neighbour and safeguard Russian-speaking populations, Moscow refers to its operations in Ukraine as a "special military operation." It is referred to as a conquest-style war in Ukraine.
In order to sell the new crops and clear a backlog of 18 million tonnes of grains from the harvest of last year, Kyiv has stated that it intends to expand the monthly volume of maritime exports to 3 million tonnes in the near future.