Black Sea grain deal

Subject : International Relations

Section: Places in news

Concept :

President Vladimir Putin said this month that Russia was considering withdrawing from the Black Sea grain deal as he accused the West of cheating Moscow because it still faced obstacles getting its own agricultural goods to world markets.
Putin said he would discuss the future of the grain deal with visiting African leaders.

About Black Sea Grain Initiative:

It was set up to resume vital food and fertilizer exports from Ukraine to the rest of the world.
It was brokered between Russia and Ukraine by the United Nations and Turkey.
The Initiative allowed exports of grain, other foodstuffs, and fertilizer, including ammonia, to resume through a safe maritime humanitarian corridor from three key Ukrainian ports: Chornomorsk, Odesa, and Yuzhny/Pivdennyi, to the rest of the world.

Joint Coordination Centre (JCC):

A JCC was established to monitor the implementation of the Initiative.
JCC Centre is hosted in Istanbul and includes representatives from Russia, Türkiye, Ukraine, and the United Nations.
The UN acts as the Secretariat for the Centre.

Procedure:

Vessels wishing to participate in the Initiative will undergo inspection off Istanbul to ensure they are empty of cargo.
They then sail through the maritime humanitarian corridor to Ukrainian ports to load.
The corridor is monitored 24/7 to ensure the safe passage of vessels.
Vessels on the return journey will also be inspected at the inspection area off Istanbul.

Russia’s Stand

Putin said Russia only agreed to the deal for the sake of countries in Africa and Latin America but that only around 3.2-3.4% of the grain goes to the world’s poorest countries while 40% went to prosperous countries.
According to U.N. data, around 3% of exports under the Black Sea deal has gone to low-income countries, while high income countries get around 44% and the rest to middle-income states.
The United Nations has always said the deal was a commercial enterprise and not intended to be entirely humanitarian, but that it benefited poorer countries by helping lower food prices globally.
Russia spelled out the demands it wants met in exchange for its continued cooperation in the grain deal: – Moscow wants the Russian Agricultural Bank (Rosselkhozbank) reconnected to the SWIFT payments system.