Ukraine’s first grain shipment gets snubbed

EuroActiv Politico News

A Lebanon-based buyer rejected the first grain shipment out of Ukraine via the Black Sea, according to the Ukrainian embassy in Lebanon.

“According to the information of the shipper the final buyer in Lebanon refused to accept the cargo due to delay of delivery terms (more than 5 months),” the embassy tweeted, adding that “the shipper is now looking for another consignee. It can either be in Lebanon or other country.”

The Sierra Leone-flagged cargo ship Razoni was the first vessel to set sail early this month under a U.N.- and Turkey-sponsored deal that grants ships carrying grain safe passage to and from Ukraine’s ports in the Odesa region. Global food prices rose since Russia’s invasion, but have dipped slightly since the deal was announced last month.

The Razoni is carrying some 26,000 tons of corn and is currently in the Mediterranean near the Turkish coast, according to shipping data.

So far, 10 ships have departed from Ukraine’s three Black Sea ports under the Black Sea agreement.

The Ukrainian embassy in Beirut could not immediately be reached for comment.