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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Sunday, March 09, 2025
Leaders in the United Nations, Turkey and Russia are announcing that a deal has been reached to extend the Black Sea Grain Initiative for another 120 days beyond Nov. 19, when the original deal would have expired without a new agreement.
The United Nations, fresh off a scare from Russia’s threat to withdraw from the Black Sea Grain Initiative and 10 days from the extension deadline for the deal, is desperate to show Moscow that it’s serious about improving Russian fertilizer exports.
The chicken industry used a recent public hearing to push back on many aspects of an Agriculture Department proposal to tweak salmonella regulations in poultry production.
The inspection of grain ships entering and leaving the Black Sea is set to resume Thursday now that Russia has resumed participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative, and that is allowing the United Nations to focus on preventing the Nov. 19 expiration of the agreement.
The Russian government says it will continue to allow grain shipments out of the Black Sea. All inspections of grain ships were due to stop on Wednesday because of uncertainty about Russia's plans.
The three Ukrainian ports in Odesa are ramping up grain exports now that they are free to ship, and the U.S. Agency for International Development is funding some of that new activity.
As ships filled with Ukrainian grain leave Odesa ports for the first time in five months, the Ukrainian ag sector is cautiously optimistic that trade will save farmers, and the United Nations is hoping to see food prices drop for the neediest countries.
Stevedores at Odesa ports are loading ocean-going vessels with grain as Ukraine prepares to ramp up exports well beyond the comparatively meager amounts it’s been able to ship since Russia invaded five months ago.
Ukrainian ports in Odesa will begin exporting grain despite the recent Russian missile attack that threatened to skuttle a deal to allow trade to resume, according to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The ink was barely dry on a deal to allow shipments of grain stuck in Ukrainian ports when Russia unleashed a missile attack that has jeopardized the agreement.
