The bulk carrier SKY GATE, this year's first ship chartered by the UN World Food Program under the Grain From Ukraine program to carry grain as humanitarian aid, has set sail through the Ukrainian corridor in the sea with 25,000 tons of wheat for Nigeria, the Ministry of Community Development, Territories and Infrastructure reported on Thursday, UNN reports.
Details
"The bulk carrier SKY GATE with 25 thousand tons of Ukrainian humanitarian wheat for Nigeria is moving through the Ukrainian corridor. This is the first vessel this year with humanitarian wheat chartered by the UN World Food Program under the Grain From Ukraine program," the statement said.
According to Deputy Prime Minister and Head of the Ministry Oleksandr Kubrakov, the Ukrainian corridor is the main way for Ukrainian farmers to access world markets.
"Over the past six months, more than 15 million tons of Ukrainian grain cargo have been exported from the ports of Greater Odesa. And we are resuming supplies of humanitarian wheat under the Grain From Ukraine program for countries on the brink of famine," Kubrakov said.
Addendum
The Grain From Ukraine program was initiated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in November 2022 and has been implemented jointly with the UN World Food Program and donor countries since November 2022. Its goal is to provide access to Ukrainian food to countries suffering from hunger. "In the first year, 34 countries and international organizations joined the program. 170 thousand tons of humanitarian wheat were sent to Ethiopia, Yemen, Somalia, Kenya, and Afghanistan," the Ministry said.
The second international Grain From Ukraine summit, held in Kyiv on November 25, 2023, reportedly raised more than $100 million to continue the humanitarian program for countries most affected by food shortages.