Turkey, Ukraine renew grain export deal

Rahshan Saglam
Press TV, Istanbul

The Turkish defense minister and Ukraine’s infrastructure minister paid a visit to the Joint Coordination Center that controls the implementation of the grain deal through the Black Sea and the Turkish Straits.

The two officials reiterated the importance of the deal that was made in July, which granted the export of Ukrainian grains once again after it was halted due to the Russia-Ukraine war.

The deal that was made thanks to initiatives from the UN and Turkey prevented a major global food crisis. Ukraine’s agriculture ministry announced that it had exported 2.12 million metric tons of grains in October, while in 2021 the number was 2.17 which is only 2.4 percent lower than last year when things were normal.

Ukrainian officials have stated that the exports now are nearly reaching the same number as last year from before the Russian attack on Ukraine.

In February 2022 the grain exports stopped after the black sea ports were closed due to the ongoing war in Ukraine. This has led to a rise in the prices of grains and prompted fears of shortage in Africa and the Middle East however the deal made in July solved the issue.

However analysts believe the Turkish president is not doing this to only solve a global crisis.

Turkey has so far mediated between Ukraine and Russia in favor of the grain export deal and a prisoner swap as Erdogan is looking forward to also becoming the hub for gas supply from Russia to European countries.

Turkish people have always been against Turkey interfering in other countries’ affairs. However this time Erdogan is making it seem like this can be beneficial for Turkey, and will definitely try to use it in his election campaign.

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