Russia may scupper any hopes of an extension being agreed to the Black Sea grain deal brokered by the United Nations (UN) in July 2022, leaving it possible that the deal will end in two weeks’ time.

The deal allows grain grown in Russia and Ukraine to find its way on to global markets through ports in the Black Sea region whose freight routes would otherwise have been disrupted by the war.

Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine last year saw the deal agreed up to 18 March - after which there is no agreement in place to facilitate grain shipments from key Black Sea ports.

Ukraine, the EU and the US are among those who have made calls for the deal to be extended to allow further supplies of grain to reach food importing countries, but Russia has been deeply critical of the deal in a statement issued by its ministry of foreign affairs on Thursday.

Fertiliser sticking point

Russia has indicated that its concerns on restrictions of its fertiliser exports are going unheard at the UN, with fertiliser exports cited as one of the main reasons for holding back any extension of the Black Sea deal.

The Russian government accused the US, EU and the UK of applying sanctions to food and fertilisers, despite “unfounded declarations” it says have been made by governments suggesting otherwise.

It wants flows of ammonia to resume along the Togliatti-Odessa pipeline, which was cut off by Ukraine after the invasion last year.

The closing of the pipeline cut off the raw materials needed for the manufacture of 7m tonnes of fertiliser over the past year, Russia said.

The pipeline brings ammonia from the Russia-Ukrainian border to the port of Odessa for export by sea.

Hunger relief

Moscow maintains that around half of all grain shipped under the deal went to “high-income countries”, which were “primarily” in the EU.

It has claimed that attempts to justify an extension on the back of these figures are “clumsy”.

Around 23m tonnes of grain, mostly corn and wheat, have been exported since the deal was brokered - China has been the largest destination for cargoes shipped under the deal, taking in 4.8m tonnes of the grain.

Almost one in every 10t of wheat exported through the corridor last year was bought by the UN’s World Food Programme, which delivers food to areas at risk of hunger through conflict, natural disasters and poverty.

Shipping slowdown

Ukraine maintains that the Russians are currently impeding the transport of grain through the corridor to “use food as a weapon”.

It has called on both the UN and Turkey to intervene and ensure that administrative delays do not keep ships waiting for weeks to gain all necessary permissions to continue on their journey into global shipping routes.

The Ukrainian government pointed to Russia’s inspection teams as being a cause of delays in shipments, stating last month that inspectors are only conducting half of the inspections they have to carry out to approve grain shipments through the deal.

Kiev said that “groundless reasons” are being used to hold up ships full of grain as part of what it has called a “systematic decrease of the freight turnover” orchestrated by Russia.