New York: The UN announced that 17.8 million tons of grain have been exported to 43 countries, following the signing of the agreement of Turkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine to resume Ukrainian grain exports so far.

“From August 2022 to date, 17.8 million tonnes of grain and other food products have been exported under the Black Sea Grain Initiative to 43 countries,” UN Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq said in a statement.

“In December, the exports through the Ukrainian Black Sea ports marked a bit over 3.7 million metric tonnes, up from 2.6 million in November,” he added. Haq said that“in the last two weeks, nearly 1.2 million metric tonnes of food have been moved from those ports.

However, unfavorable weather conditions both in Odesa ports as well as in Turkish inspection areas have curbed some movements in the last week.”

“The United Nations urges all parties to work to remove obstacles for the reduction of the backlog and improve operational efficiencies within the JCC,” Farhan Haq said.

In July 2022, Turkiye, the UN, Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement in Istanbul to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea, which were suspended in Feb. 2022 due to the Russian-Ukrainian war.

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