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Nearly 25 million tonnes of grain have been stranded in Ukraine and cannot leave the country because of blocked Black Sea ports, including Mariupol, according to a UN Food Agency official.
The blockages are seen as a factor behind high food prices, which hit a record high in March, in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, before easing slightly in April, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Ukraine was the world’s fourth largest exporter of corn in the 2020-2021 season and the sixth largest exporter of wheat, according to data from the International Cereals Council.
““It is an almost grotesque situation that we see at the moment in Ukraine with about 25 million tons of grain that can be exported, but that can not leave the country simply because of the lack of infrastructure, the blockade of ports.”said Josef Schmidhuber, FAO Deputy Director at a press conference.
He said there may be storage shortages during the next harvest in July and August.
“Despite the war, the harvest conditions do not seem so severe. This could really mean that there is not enough storage capacity in Ukraine, especially if there is no open grain corridor for export from Ukraine“, He said.
Another concern is reports that some grain depots were destroyed in the fighting in Ukraine.
“We would really help the world if we could evacuate this grain from Ukraine.”said Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
“There is a serious risk that food prices will rise and go beyond affordability, which could lead to more hunger in the world.”
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