Grain deal didn't solve needy countries' problems - Russian agriculture minister

MOSCOW. Oct 5 (Interfax) - The grain deal not only did not solve the problems of needy countries, but aggravated them, Russian Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev said.

"As to the grain deal. To my great regret, it not only did not solve the problems of needy countries, but even in some sense aggravated them," Patrushev told reporters at the Golden Autumn 2022 agro-industrial exhibition.

Grain is not being sent to needy countries, and the supply volumes are generally inconsiderable, he said.

"We see where vessels from Ukraine are going, it's, for example, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, not the states that really have an acute need for food and used to traditionally purchased Ukrainian products. Besides, the supply volumes are inconsiderable, and they are incapable of having a considerable effect on the global situation," the Russian agriculture minister said.

According to earlier reports, a document that, in particular, envisaged the creation of a corridor to take grain out of three Ukrainian ports - Chernomorsk, Odessa and Yuzhny - was signed in Istanbul on July 22 with participation of the UN, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine.