The Black Sea Grain Initiative
#GS-02 International Relations
For Prelims:
About Black Sea Grain Initiative:
- The Black Sea Grain deal endeavours to tackle escalating food prices emanating from supply chain disruptions because of Russia’s actions in the world’s ‘breadbasket’.
- The initiative specifically allows for significant volumes of commercial food exports from three key Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea – Odesa, Chornomorsk, Yuzhny.
- The Secretary-General of UN announced the establishment of a Joint Coordination Centre to monitor implementation.
- It will be hosted in Istanbul and will include representatives from Ukraine, Russia and Türkiye.
- Ukrainian vessels will guide the cargo ships into international waters of the Black Sea, avoiding mined areas.
- The vessels will then proceed towards the Bosphorus Strait along an agreed corridor.
- Ships heading to and from the Ukrainian ports will be inspected by teams organised by the Joint Coordination Centre.
- The first shipment of over 26,000 tons of Ukrainian food under a Black Sea Grain Initiative was cleared to proceed on 3 August, towards its destination in Lebanon.
- As per the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, approximately 10.1 million tonnes of grains have been shipped since the initiative commenced.
The Shipments and its targets:
- About 44% of the shipments, which include corn, wheat, rapeseed, and sunflower oil among others, reached high-income countries (including Spain, Netherlands and Italy among others),
- 28% reached low and lower-middle-income countries (Egypt, Iran, Sudan and Kenya among others) and,
- 27% reached upper-middle income countries (China and Bulgaria among others).
About Joint Coordination Centre (JCC):
- The JCC was established on 27 July 2022 in Istanbul.
- The JCC comprises representatives of Ukraine, the Russian Federation, Türkiye and the United Nations.
- The Initiative is focused on exporting grain, other foodstuffs and fertilizers, including ammonia, from Ukraine.
About FAO Food Price Index:
- The FAO Food Price Index (FFPI) is a measure of the monthly change in international prices of a basket of food commodities.
- It consists of the average of five commodity group price indices weighted by the average export shares of each of the groups over 2014-2016.
Source “The Black Sea Grain Initiative“
