Prices slumped almost 6 per cent on Friday to close at the lowest since early February after the agreement was reached to allow shipments from three Black Sea ports including Odessa.Millions of tonnes of grain are stuck in Ukraine after Russia’s invasion blocked its major ports. While a small volume has been rerouted by road and rail, major customers in the Middle East and North Africa have been forced to look elsewhere for supplies, pushing up prices and worsening food insecurity.
There were nine ships at Odessa sea port, including four loaded with corn worth $US45.6 million , a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News. The grain ships were under the flags of Malta, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Panama, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing private information.
Corn futures rose as much as 2.8 per cent on Monday before paring gains to 1.4 per cent, while soybeans were up just 0.3 per cent. Under the agreement, Ukrainian captains will steer vessels carrying grain out of port, and a joint command centre with officials from Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations will be set up in Istanbul to monitor the flotillas’ movements.