Over 7 mln tonnes of Ukrainian food products exported under Istanbul grain deal

NEW YORK, UN. Oct 12 (Interfax) - Seven vessels carrying nearly 175,000 tonnes of corn, wheat and sunflower oil departed from Ukrainian ports on Tuesday after receiving permission from the Joint Coordination Center (JCC).

"As of 11 October, the total tonnage of grain and other foodstuffs exported from the three Ukrainian ports is 7,059,740 metric tonnes. A total of 641 voyages (325 inbound and 316 outbound) have been enabled so far," the center said.

Seven vessels carrying a total of 174,862 tonnes of grain and other agriculture products left Ukrainian ports on October 11 under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, it said.

Among them, two bulkers, the Melina (26,380 tonnes of corn) and the Hazar S (6,000 tonnes of corn), are bound for Italy, and another two, the Lucky Trader (24,000 tonnes of wheat) and the Erdek (9,350 tonnes of sunflower oil), are heading to Turkey.

The Magnum Power is carrying 51,742 tonnes of wheat to Indonesia, the Sea Pearl J bulker is heading to Tunisia with 30,000 tonnes of corn on board, and the Ince Evrenye is carrying 27,390 tonnes of wheat to Spain.

"Grains that reach a destination may go through processing and be trans-shipped to other countries," the JCC said.

The United Nations, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine signed documents in Istanbul on July 22 on opening a corridor to export grain from three Ukrainian ports, namely Chernomorsk, Odessa and Yuzhny.