Rabat – Morocco received 12,700 tonnes of supplies from Ukraine between August 3 and November 2, 2022, as part of the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
The initiative was launched in June following an agreement between Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, and the United Nations. The agreement aims to address supply bottlenecks of grains and other food supplies, particularly in import-reliant countries in Africa.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 9.6 million tonnes of commodities were shipped from Ukraine globally with Spain receiving 1.8 million tonnes of the shipped products, ahead of Turkey (1.3 million tonnes), China (906,300 tonnes), and Italy (860,300 tonnes).
Egypt, ranked as the largest African importer of Ukrainian grains, followed in the sixth position globally with total imports of 428,800 tonnes.
Breaking down the total tonnage by commodity type, OCHA indicated that roughly half of the shipments (4.2 million tonnes) were made up of corn. The valuable commodity, wheat, represented an additional 2.8 million tonnes.
Rapeseed and barley followed with 731,000 tonnes, and 431,000 tonnes respectively. Meanwhile, sunflower oil and sunflower meal occupied fourth and fifth position in the list with respective volumes of 583,200 tonnes and 573,900 tonnes.
The black sea grain initiative continues despite Russia’s temporary withdrawal from the multilateral deal on Saturday due to alleged attacks against its ships.
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According to converging media reports, at least 17 ships have continued to cross the Black Sea corridor since the Russian withdrawal from the deal, with three vessels carrying corn, wheat, and sunflower meals departing from Ukrainian ports on Tuesday.
However, the UN stated yesterday that there would be “no movement of vessels on Wednesday, in the light of Russia’s decision to suspend its involvement in the deal.” With negotiations continuing in New York, it remains unclear whether the movement of vessels would resume soon.
As tensions persist between Russia, Europe, the US, and the UN, import-reliant countries such as Morocco, Egypt, and other African countries have to adapt to soaring grain prices and look for alternative supply.
In Morocco, the government is willing to import French soft wheat to offset the supply gap despite ongoing tensions with Paris. French exports of soft wheat to Morocco are forecasted to reach between 4.5 and 5 million tonnes in 2023 amid severe drought in Morocco.
