The Turkish vessel Polarnet, which left the port of Chornomorsk (Odessa region) on August 5 with 12,000 tons of corn from the Kernel agricultural holding, arrived at the Turkish port of Derince on August 8.
Kernel completed one of the most important missions – the first ship with Ukrainian grain arrived at its destination. The shipment was carried out as part of the initiative for the safe transportation of grain and food from Ukrainian ports,” the group of companies wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.
It is specified that the ship was loaded with corn at the Transbulkterminal grain terminal in Chornomorsk, which is part of Kernel. In the 2020/2021 marketing year (MY, July-June), the terminal handled 7.6 million tons of grain crops, which is 22% more than in MY 2019/2020, and became the largest in the country in terms of transshipment of agricultural products.
Agropromholding emphasized that Ukrainian agricultural exporters remain key suppliers of foreign exchange earnings to Ukraine, which is an important positive factor for the economy of the warring country.
“If we manage to maintain the trend and increase exports, farmers will not have to reduce the area under crops, and Ukraine will feel a deficit in state budget revenues,” Kernel summed up in the message.
Before the war, Kernel ranked first in the world in the production of sunflower oil (about 7% of world production) and its export (about 12%), and was also the largest producer and seller of bottled sunflower oil in Ukraine. In addition, the company was engaged in the cultivation of other agricultural products and their sale.
Its largest co-owner through Namsen Ltd. is Ukrainian businessman Andrey Verevsky with a share of 41.3%.
The agricultural holding in fiscal year 2021 (FY, July 2020 – June 2021), increased its net profit by 4.3 times compared to FY 2020 – up to $513 million, its EBITDA increased 2.1 times – up to $929 million, revenue – by 38%, to $5.65 billion.
The Ministry of Infrastructure announced the departure of the first ship with 26,000 tons of Ukrainian corn from the sea trade port “Odessa”.
“The first ship with Ukrainian food left the port of Odessa,” Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine Oleksandr Kubrakov wrote on his Facebook page.
Earlier, People’s Deputy of Ukraine (European Solidarity faction) Oleksiy Goncharenko in his telegram channel said that the first caravan of 16 dry cargo ships with grain from Ukraine would arrive in Turkey on August 3 this year.
As reported, on July 29, the ambassadors of the G7 countries in Ukraine arrived in Odessa to check the launch of the “grain corridor”.
On July 22, under the auspices of the UN, Ukraine and Turkey signed an agreement in Istanbul on the resumption of the safe export of Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea.
On the morning of July 23, Russian invaders attacked the Odessa Commercial Sea Port with Caliber cruise missiles. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that the Russian Federation, with a missile attack on the port, questioned the agreements it had given to the UN and Turkey in the “grain” agreement. The UN chief unequivocally condemned reports of air strikes on Odessa, citing the commitments made by the parties at the signing ceremony in Istanbul.
The first ships with Ukrainian grain are being loaded in the ports of the Odessa region, which have been blocked in Ukrainian waters since the beginning of the war, said Deputy Head of the President’s Office Kyrylo Tymoshenko.
“There are 17 ships in the ports with almost 600,000 tons of cargo. Of these, 16 ships with Ukrainian grain with a total tonnage of about 580,000 tons, which will soon leave for ports of destination,” he wrote on his Telegram channel on Friday.
Tymoshenko also stressed that as a result of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation on the territory of the Odessa region, 416 buildings and structures were destroyed or partially damaged.
As reported, on July 29, the ambassadors of the G7 countries in Ukraine arrived in Odessa to check the launch of the grain corridor.
On July 22, under the auspices of the UN, Ukraine and Turkey signed an agreement in Istanbul on the resumption of the safe export of Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea.
Ukraine, Turkey and Russia, with the support of UN Secretary General António Guteres, agreed to facilitate safe shipping for the export of grain, related food products and fertilizers (including ammonia) from the seaports of Odessa, Chornomorsk and Pivdenny within 120 days from the possibility of extending this period.
The corresponding signing of documents within the framework of the initiative for the safe transportation of grain and food from Ukrainian ports took place in Istanbul on Friday: the Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine Oleksandr Kubrakov, in the presence of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, signed a tripartite document with Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and the UN Secretary General, who also signed a second such a tripartite document with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
As noted in the text of the initiative, a copy of which is available to the Interfax-Ukraine agency, it is based on agreements between the parties to the 1974 international convention on the safety of life at sea.
In particular, the parties agree on the following:
– maximum security guarantees for all vessels participating in this initiative;
– creation under the auspices of the UN in Istanbul of a joint coordination center (JCC), which includes representatives of all parties;
– Creation and work on the ships participating in the initiative of inspection teams from representatives of the parties, which will inspect the ships in the ports designated by Turkey, when entering / leaving the Turkish Strait to check the absence of unauthorized cargo and personnel on board.
At the same time, all activities in Ukrainian territorial waters will be under the control and responsibility of Ukraine.
The parties will not launch any attacks on merchant and civilian vessels, as well as on port facilities participating in this initiative.
If clearance of approaches to ports is required, a minesweeper from a third country must be involved
Merchant vessels must be pre-registered with the SKC and will be under technical control for the duration of their passage through the maritime humanitarian corridor agreed by all parties.
The RCC will develop and disseminate a detailed operational and communications plan, including the identification of safe havens and medical assistance options along the route.
In order to prevent provocations and incidents, the movement of vessels transiting the maritime humanitarian corridor will be remotely controlled by the Parties.
“No warships, aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can approach the maritime humanitarian corridor closer than the distance agreed by the RCC without the permission of the RCC and only after consultation with all Parties,” the text of the initiative emphasizes.
This initiative will be valid for 120 days from the date of signing by all Parties and may be automatically renewed for the same period, unless one of the Parties notifies the other of its intention to terminate the initiative or change it.
At the same time, the achievement of an agreement on the export of Ukrainian grain does not mean a weakening of the security regime in the Black Sea, representatives of Ukraine have repeatedly emphasized.
CHORNOMORSK, EXPORT, GRAIN, ODESSA, PIVDENNY, PORT, RUSSIAN FEDERATION, TURKEY, UKRAINE
Several companies from the UAE are interested in building a marina in Odesa, as well as port infrastructure, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said at a press conference on Monday.
“There is a question of ports. They [companies from the UAE] are professionals. They are now in our market. We are talking about a large project – the construction of a large marina in Odesa and a large separate port. And one of the companies we met will be in Ukraine this week, and we will talk specifically about river transport, in which they are professionals and are ready to build river ports,” he said.
According to the president, he discussed these issues with representatives of large companies from the UAE during a meeting with business as part of his trip to the UAE.
Zelensky also said that river transportation is the cheapest in Ukraine, while it can be a profitable industry for both business and the budget.
As reported, the UAE plans to increase the turnover of agricultural products with Ukraine tenfold and bring this figure to $2 billion per year.
Nika-Tera Sea Terminal (Sea Specialized Port Nika-Tera, Mykolaiv), part of Dmytro Firtash’ Group DF, handled 409 vessels and 7.38 million tonnes of cargo in 2020, which is 15% lower than in 2019.
According to the company’s website, the main types of cargo handled in the port are grain, legumes and oilseeds, as well as their processed products.
In 2020, the port started handling oil products and resumed handling fertilizers.
“The coronavirus [COVID-19] pandemic and the drop in crop yields are the main reasons for the 14% decrease in cargo handling. In 2020, grain was the main type of cargo handled in the port. At the same time, the crisis helped us open a new ‘window of opportunity’: we are talking about the restoration of volumes of mineral cargo and bitumen handlings,” CEO of Nika-Tera Alim Agakishiev commented on the results of the past year.
The structure of the company’s cargo turnover in 2020 looked as follows: grain, legumes and oilseeds, as well as their processed products accounted for 75% (some 5.55 million tonnes) of handling; open storage bulk cargo for 18% (some 1.3 million tonnes); liquid cargo for 4% (some 323,000 tonnes) and mineral fertilizers for 3% (some 194,000 tonnes).
In 2020, the port handled 409 vessels (versus 410 in 2019), while increasing the number of processed bulk carriers of the Panamax type (with a tonnage of about 65,000 tonnes) by 44% from 16 to 23 units.
In total, 63,114 rail cars and 65,910 vehicles were handled in the port.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the port was able to ensure 100% retention of the company’s personnel and large-scale assistance to the city’s healthcare sector in the fight against COVID-19.
“We believe in a gradual recovery of the market, economy and, accordingly, the volume of cargo turnover in 2021. However, much will depend on weather conditions and the yield of key crops in this marketing year,” Agakishiev said.
