Ukraine grain shipments good but small first step

The recent grain shipments from Ukraine are a good first step, said Secretary of State Tony Blinken but small compared with the amount of stored grain the Russians have blocked from export until now.

Blinken spoke to reporters at the UN recently and was asked about the first shipment of grain from Ukraine’s major port of Odessa.

“We were pleased to see that the first ship did move. It does have 26-27,000 tons of grain, but keep in mind there are something like 20 million tons that are in silos and storage in Ukraine that’s been held back by the Russian blockade of Odesa up until now, and it needs to get out,” Blinken said.

Blinken added the grain needs to get out to world markets, and to places where people are in desperate need of food. This will take shipments of much more grain than the initial shipments.

“It’s a start, it’s important. But the test is now really in the days and weeks ahead. More ships need to move, more grain needs to get to market. That’s what will really make a difference,” Blinken said.

Two more ships have left or were to leave Ukrainian ports since Blinken spoke at the U.N. A Malta-flagged ship headed for Britain and a Turkey-flagged vessel from the same port, also with corn.

Tags: Ukraine, Russia, export, grain, world markets, Одесса, порт, shipments, UN