In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, a Turkish Polarnet cargo ship is loading Ukrainian grain in a port in Odesa region, Ukraine, Friday, 29 July, 2022. AP
New Delhi: Almost half of the grains shipped out of Ukraine through the Black Sea corridor deal ended up being fed to Pigs in Spain instead of reaching the African countries at the risk of a famine, something the deal was touted to do.
Just 15 per cent of the Ukrainian grains reached the African countries like Sudan and Ethiopia, according to a report by Austrian news outlet eXXpress.
Around 29.5 million tonnes of Ukrainian wheat and corn were shipped to Spain, where it was used as pig feed to prepare the world famous Jamon ham.
Ethiopia and Sudan received just 167,000 and 65,000 tonnes respectively.
In July last year, the UN and Turkey brokered a deal that allowed the Ukrainian and Russian grains to be shipped out to the different parts of world.
Ukraine makes for a major share in the grain market. But due to the war and the subsequent Russian blockade, it was not able to ship the much needed staple especially to the African counties that depended on it due to famines at home.
The deal was marketed as an urgent step to relieve the African dependent on Ukrainian and Russian grains.
Soon after the deal the Russian officials started flagging that the deal had not gone the way it was touted to be.
By December, Russian officials were saying that 6.4 million tons of Ukrainian grain had been exported to the EU, of which 43 per cent was corn and 29 percent wheat, according to a Russia Today report.
The EU in May last year rolled out an arrangement that removed all tariffs and taxes on Ukrainian agricultural products.
The arrangement, which is set to end this June, has prompted Ukraine’s neighbouring countries to lobby against extending it. They say that the deal has disrupted regional competition and flooded their market with cheap Ukrainian produce.
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