New York, 1 June 2023 - I have an update on the Black Sea Initiative. We got quite a few questions recently, and I can tell you that we are concerned about the continuous slowdown of the implementation of the Black Sea Initiative, observed particularly in the months of April and May. In May, 33 vessels departed Ukrainian ports, half of the number compared to the previous month of April. Only three of those ships departed from the port of Yuzhny/Pivdennyi, one of the three Ukrainian ports covered under the agreement.
Exports in May reached 1.3 million metric tons of grains and other foodstuffs. That is less than half of the previous month.
The Russian Federation has informed the JCC [Joint Coordination Centre] of its decision to limit registrations to the port of Yuzhny/Pivdennyi as long as ammonia is not exported. And currently, it is not. Since 24 May, the number of inspection teams at the JCC has been reduced from three to two. The limited registrations and reduced inspection teams contributed to the drop of the average daily inspection rate down to three. This is a very serious situation.
We need to move forward. The Initiative is bound for renewal on 17 July. Global hunger hotspots are increasing — as we have been notifying you on a regular basis — and the spectre of food inflation and market volatility lurks in all countries.
The UN Secretariat has put forward practical suggestions to all parties at the strategic and operational level, keeping in mind the global benefits of the Initiative.
We will continue our intense engagement with the parties towards the full resumption of operations and continuation of the Initiative. In particular, we are looking for commitments on unconditional access of vessels to all three ports under the Initiative, increased number of successful inspections completed per day and predictable registrations to avoid undue delay of vessels, exports of fertilizers — and that includes ammonia — and the resumption of the Togliatti-Odesa ammonia pipeline.
We will share all of that in writing with you.
