Ireland receives first Ukrainian grain shipment since start of war

A shipment of 33,000 tonnes of grain that landed in Ireland from Ukraine this weekend was the first since the war broke out in February.

The 33,000 tonnes reached a port on Ireland’s west coast on Saturday, having set off from Odesa, Ukraine, on 5 August, along with two other ships headed for Turkey and the UK.

The shipment was one of the first to leave Ukraine under a grain export agreement – the Black Sea Grain Initiative – brokered by the UN and Turkey in July. The deal came amid growing fears of global food shortages caused by the conflict in Ukraine, one of the world’s largest grain exporters.

Larysa Gerasko, the Ukrainian Ambassador to Ireland, was among those who travelled to Foynes Port in County Limerick for the arrival of the shipment. The grain, she said, according to Irish media, would help to “lift the burden of uncertainty” for Irish farmers.

She added that Ukraine would fulfil its obligations under the Initiative but that global food security would depend on Russia also upholding its commitments under the deal.

Tags: Ukraine, export, grain, Ireland