Inclusion of Mykolaiv ports in the Grain Initiative, speeding up inspection of ships in the Bosporus and prolonging the agreements for at least 1 year. These issues were discussed during the visit of Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine Oleksandr Kubrakov, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink and Sanctions Coordinator of the U.S. Department of State, Ambassador James O’Brien to the ports of Odesa and Pivdennyi.

“77 vessels are queuing for inspection in Turkey, the ports of Odesa are using up to 50% of their capacities, the cost of grain is growing with each new blackmail from russia.

The artificial delay leads to losses for farmers and shipowners, and as a result, the most vulnerable populations and countries are on the verge of starvation. A single day lost costs at least 30,000 dollars. Currently, vessels are waiting for inspection for 2 to 5 weeks. Strategically, we must not only achieve acceleration of inspections in the Bosporus, but also include Mykolaiv ports in the Initiative and prolong the agreement for at least a year. I am grateful to our American partners for their support and willingness to promote the Grain Initiative on international platforms,” commented Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine Oleksandr Kubrakov.

According to the Minister, Ukraine has already officially appealed to the UN and Turkey with a proposal to add the port of Mykolaiv to the Grain Initiative and is waiting for a response from the guarantors of the agreements.

Also during the visit, the Minister of Infrastructure and the US officials met with representatives of port authorities and agricultural business to discuss options for facilitating their work within the framework of the Initiative.

As a reminder, since August 1, more than 12 million tonnes of Ukrainian food have been exported from the ports of Greater Odesa to Asia, Europe and Africa.