Grain export resumes, easing fears of widespread hunger

Analysts express tentative hopes that international efforts to allow ships to cross Black Sea blockade will hold

- Isobel Koshiw

A ship carrying Ukrainian grain left the port of Odesa for the first time since the start of the Russian invasion, according to Ukraine's infrastructure ministry.

The Sierra Leone-flagged Razoni, carrying 26,000 tonnes of corn, set sail for Lebanon on Monday morning after weeks of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, led by Turkey and the United Nations.

Russia has been blockading Ukraine's ports since the start of the war, stoking a worldwide grain shortage that has caused the UN to warn of a looming hunger catastrophe.

Oleksandr Kubrakov, infrastructure minister for Ukraine, said: "Ukraine, together with our partners, has taken another step today in preventing world hunger." Kubrakov stressed that Ukraine had done "everything" to restore the ports and said the lifting of the blockade would give Ukraine's economy $1bn in foreign exchange revenue.

The Kremlin had said the news of the departure was "very positive", Reuters reported, while Turkey's defence ministry said more ships would follow. Ukraine is one of the biggest grain producers and about 20m tonnes of grain is reportedly stuck there waiting to be exported.

The blockade has led to a worldwide grain shortage and price increases, pushing some countries that rely on imports, mainly in the Middle East and Africa, towards famine.