Agriculture Ministry News

Constant attacks on Ukrainian Black Sea ports by Russian drones and missiles are leading to a slowdown in Ukraine's maritime agricultural exports, brokers said on Wednesday.A key maritime hub in the southern Odesa region has been under almost daily attacks in recent weeks, but authorities have not reported any significant damage to port infrastructure."Active shelling of Ukraine, particularly in the south, by Russia last week led to interruptions in export shipments and a slowdown in waterborne exports…

Around 14,500 livestock sailed from Australia to Israel on Sunday for the second time, two months after their first voyage was curtailed by the threat of attack by Houthi militants in the Red Sea.The animals left Fremantle port in Perth on Jan. 5 but halfway to the Middle East, their ship abandoned its route and was ordered home by the Australian government.The turn-back was part of the havoc wrought by the Houthi strikes in support of Hamas militants in Palestine that have forced…

Thousands of sheep and cattle stuck on a ship that was forced to abandon a passage through the Red Sea last month have begun disembarking at the same Australian port they left nearly six weeks ago, Australia's agriculture ministry said late on Monday.The MV Bahijah sailed from Fremantle, Western Australia on Jan. 5 for Israel with about 14,000 sheep and 2,000 cattle on board, but diverted from its route due to the threat of attack by Yemen's Houthi militia before being ordered…

The Australian government said on Monday it had refused a request by a livestock exporter to send a ship carrying around 14,000 sheep and 1,500 cattle on a month-long voyage around Africa to Israel.The animals have been on board the vessel for a month, prompting outcry from animal rights advocates who have likened their treatment to torture.The MV Bahijah sailed from Australia for Israel on Jan. 5 but abandoned a passage through the Red Sea due to threat of attack by Yemen's Houthi…

A ship carrying 16,000 sheep and cows that turned back from the Red Sea due to the risk of attack off Yemen was stranded at an Australian port in a heatwave on Friday as the exporter sought to offload at least some of the animals into quarantine.Meanwhile, another vessel carrying an even larger cargo - tens of thousands of animals - from Australia sailed for a Red Sea port in Jordan, with a contingency plan to unload them in the Gulf if it fails to obtain permission to enter the…

A ship carrying around 14,000 sheep and 2,000 cattle is marooned off the coast of Australia in sweltering heat after it was forced to abandon a trip through the Red Sea, causing outcry from people concerned about the animals' welfare.The vessel left Australia on Jan. 5 for Israel, where it was to unload, but diverted from its course in mid-January due to the threat of attack by Yemen's Houthi militia before being ordered home by the Australian government.The animals are now in limbo and could be discharged in Australia…

Agricultural producers in Ukraine say a new Black Sea corridor could enable exports of up to 2.5 million metric tons of food a month, almost offsetting the impact of Russia's decision to quit a U.N.-brokered deal to allow grain shipments through the region.The export deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey collapsed in July as Russia declined to recognize it, saying its demand that sanctions be lifted on its grain and fertilizer exports had not been met.Kyiv has since opened what it says is a temporary humanitarian corridor in a bid to break Russia's de facto blockade.

A severe drought choking major rivers in the Amazon rainforest has disrupted ship traffic near the region's biggest city and pushed up costs for northern shipping routes, raising risks for corn exports in coming months.The unusual heat and dryness, linked to the mass deaths of fish and river dolphins, has already limited local communities'access to food and drinking water, leading the federal government to set up a humanitarian task force. Officials are now warning the thinning rivers could disrupt grains exports in the region."There is concern about shipping part of the corn harvest…

Ukraine's navy said on Wednesday that 12 more cargo vessels were ready to enter a fledgling Black Sea shipping corridor on their way to Ukrainian ports, as Kyiv steps up a push to defy a de facto Russian blockade on its vital sea exports.Russia, which has a much more powerful and bigger naval fleet in the Black Sea, pulled out of a deal in July that had allowed wartime Ukraine to safely ship food products out through what is traditionally its main export corridor. Ukraine responded by setting up a temporary "humanitarian corridor" for cargo vessels…

Ukraine has started exporting grain via Croatian seaports, aiming to broaden its export routes while its Black Sea ports are blocked, a senior Ukrainian official said on Thursday.Ukraine's main grain export route is usually via its deep Black Sea ports, but Kyiv has been looking for alternative routes since Russia invasion last year and Moscow's decision to quit the Black Sea grain export deal in mid-July.Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said during a visit to Zagreb in late July…

Russia's lack of ships and Western grain traders' shrinking appetite for business with Moscow are adding to rising costs of moving Russian wheat, at a time when the war in Ukraine has spilled perilously close to vital Black Sea supply routes.President Vladimir Putin promised to replace Ukrainian grain with Russian shipments to Africa after Moscow in July ended an arrangement that gave Ukraine's food cargo safe passage in the Black Sea, imposing a de-facto blockade on its neighbour and attacking storage facilities…

Russia warned the West on Friday that unless obstacles to its exports of grain and fertilisers were removed, then Ukraine would have to export grain over land and Moscow would work outside the UN-brokered landmark grain export deal.The Black Sea grain deal is an attempt by the United Nations to ease a food crisis that predated the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but was made worse by the most deadly war in Europe since World War Two.The deal, first signed by Russia, Ukraine, Turkey…

Cargill said on Wednesday it would take a further step back from the Russian market by stopping handling Russian grain from its export terminal from July, although its shipping unit will continue to carry grain from Russian ports.Most international grain traders have stopped new investment in Russia since last year following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine but continued exporting Russian wheat."As grain export-related challenges continue to mount, Cargill will stop elevating Russian grain for export in July 2023 after the completion of the 2022-2023 season…

Ukrainian grain traders union UGA asked the government on Wednesday to provide transparent rules on how cargo ships should queue before loading at Ukrainian Black Sea ports under a grain export deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey."It is extremely important that work in Ukraine is open and transparent," UGA said in a statement.The Black Sea Grain Initiative that was brokered last July allowed grain to be exported from three Ukrainian ports that had been blockaded by…

Ukraine has sent an appeal to the UN and Turkey to start negotiations on extending a grain export deal, but so far there has been no response, a Ukrainian government source said on Tuesday.Yuriy Vaskov, Ukraine's deputy minister of restoration, told Reuters last week that Kyiv would ask all sides to start talks to roll over the deal, seeking an extension of at least one year that would include the ports of Mykolaiv.The Black Sea Grain Initiative brokered by the UN and Turkey last July allowed grain to be exported from three Ukrainian ports.

Ukraine will ask Turkey and the United Nations this week to start talks to roll over the Black Sea grain deal, seeking an extension of at least one year that would include the ports of Mykolaiv, a senior Ukrainian official said on Wednesday.The Black Sea Grain Initiative brokered by the UN and Turkey last July allowed grain to be exported from three Ukrainian ports. The agreement was extended in November and will expire on March 18 unless an extension is agreed."A formal proposal will come out from us this week on the need to work on an extension…

Shipping and coastal communities around Ukraine's major seaport hub of Odesa received a warning from military officials on Tuesday over the high risk of naval mines drifting along the coast and washing ashore. Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of using mines off the Ukrainian coast, which prevents safe navigation in the region. The Soviet-made mines were anchored, but in a storm some of them could come loose and be carried by the current. "There is a high probability of naval mines breaking off their anchors and washing up on the shore…

The Ukrainian port of Odesa was not operating on Sunday after the latest Russian attack on the region's energy system, Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky said, but added that grains traders were not expected to suspend exports.Two other ports - Chornomorsk and Pivdennyi - authorized to export grains from Ukraine under a deal between Russia and Ukraine were partially operating, he said."Chornomorsk port is now operating at about 80% of capacity," Solsky told Reuters in a phone…

Europe's largest land-based container terminal started operating near Hungary's border with Ukraine on Tuesday, aiming to increase shipments of Ukrainian grains via Hungary to Adriatic ports.The East-West Gate terminal, built at a cost of about 40 billion forints ($95.65 million), allows containers to be transferred between wide and standard gauge rail tracks as well as between trains and trucks.It "will have a huge role in shipping Ukrainian grains," Hungarian Foreign Minister…

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, rose for a second straight session on Monday on higher capesize rates, while other vessel segments stayed flat.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, and supramax shipping vessels, was up 28 points, or 1.6%, at 1,788 points.The capesize index gained 86 points, or 4.4%, at 2,041 points, on its best day in six.Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150…

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, edged up on Wednesday as capesize and supramax vessel segments gained.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, was up 17 points, or about 1%, at 1,746, in its second day of gains after Tuesday's 11.3% jump."The recent weather disruption in Asia supported owners’ sentiment which coupled with the strong grain stems out of both the ECSA and NCSA (east coast and north coast, South America) led to w-o-w improvements across all sectors," ship bro

A total of 33 cargoes carrying around 719,549 tonnes of foodstuffs have left Ukraine under a deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey to unblock Ukrainian sea ports, the Ukrainian agriculture ministry said on TuesdayThe Joint Coordination Centre in Turkey that monitors the implementation of the agreement put the total amount of grain and foodstuffs exported from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports since the deal was reached at 721,449 tonnes. Ukraine's grain exports slumped after Russia invaded the country on Feb.

A further ten cargo ships are being loaded with grain in Ukrainian Black Sea ports and being prepared for shipment under a food export agreement brokered last month, Ukraine’s Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Friday.Ukraine’s grain exports have slumped since the start of the war because its Black Sea ports - a vital route for shipments - were closed, driving up global food prices and prompting fears of shortages in Africa and the Middle East.At the end of July…