Russia blocks Black Sea Grain Initiative: vessel departure from Ukrainian ports plummets to record lows

In January, the index of vessel departure from Ukrainian ports within the framework of the Black Sea Grain Initiative was 2.7, which corresponded to 2-3 vessels a day. This is one of the lowest indices in all the months of the initiative's existence.

Source: Ministry of the Agrarian Policy of Ukraine

This decrease was caused by the artificial blockade of the grain corridor by the Russian inspectors.

"During the last few days, as of the end of January, the situation has been deteriorating and the daily number of vessels leaving ports has dropped to 2.5. This is an unprecedented figure," the Ministry of Agrarian Policy stated.

"Despite this, the average tonnage of shipment per vessel remained at a level of 37,000 tonnes in January, which is the best indicator of all the time the corridor was active. However, it had no effect on the total number of vessel departures in January. Thus, only 2.4 million tonnes of grain left the ports this month, compared to 4 million metric tonnes in September and October", the Ministry reports.

In January, 540,000 tonnes of wheat left the ports, with 61,000 tonnes going to Africa. 

In total, Ukraine has sent 675 vessels with a cargo of 18.4 million tonnes within the framework of the grain initiative. Africa has 2.3 million tonnes, Asia has 5.1 million tonnes, Europe has 7.5 million tonnes, and the Middle East has 3.4 million tonnes. 

Background: A queue of 120 vessels formed at the entrance and exit of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports. The vessel inspection duration rose to 10-15 days due to the lack of inspectors.

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