Ukraine To Provide 125,000 Tonnes Of Wheat, Corn To African Countries - Government

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd March, 2023) Kiev plans to purchase an additional 125,000 tonnes of wheat or corn to transfer them as humanitarian aid to African countries, the Ukrainian government said on Tuesday.

"According to the (Ukrainian) Prime Minister (Denys Shmyhal), an additional 125,000 tonnes of wheat or corn will be procured and then delivered as humanitarian aid to African countries. In total, Ukraine has already shipped over 25 million tonnes of agricultural products through the Black Sea ports as part of the Grain Initiative," the government said in a statement.

The statement added that this week, Ukraine sent another ship with 30,000 tonnes of wheat to Yemen.

In July 2022, Ukraine and Russia signed a deal brokered by Turkey and the United Nations to unblock shipments of grain, food, and fertilizer in the Black Sea despite hostilities. Moscow has repeatedly said that most vessels carrying Ukrainian grain do not reach the world's poorest countries and end up in Europe.

On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated the call to comply with all the provisions of the grain deal so that the products were sent not to "well-fed European countries", but to Africa, which currently received only 3% of all grain exported from Ukraine.