Nearly 140 ships cleared in August to operate under Black Sea Grain Initiative - UN

NEW YORK, UN. Sept 1 (Interfax) - Over 1.5 million tonnes of Ukrainian food were exported in August consistent with the Istanbul food deal, the United Nations said in a statement.

"As of 31 August, the total tonnage of grain and other foodstuffs exported from the three Ukrainian ports is 1,546,516 metric tons. A total of 139 voyages (77 inbound and 63 outbound) have been enabled so far," the statement said.

On August 31, the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) allowed four ships carrying more than 125,000 tonnes of food in total to leave Ukrainian ports on Thursday.

According to the UN, MV Eneida (loaded with 35,470 tonnes of wheat and 8,560 tonnes of corn), MV Helga (27,000 tonnes of corn) and MV Daytona Dynamic (25,850 tonnes of corn) are destined for Turkey. MV Massa J will be departing from the Yuzhnyi port with 28,500 tonnes of wheat onboard. The UN does not indicate its destination.

Two documents were signed between the United Nations, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine in Istanbul on July 22 to open a grain corridor from three Ukrainian ports, namely, Chornomorsk, Odesa and Yuzhnyi.